Subjects from two different populations (daily commuters and students) were asked to make a single choice between going by car of by public transportation in a hypothetical commuting situation. On the basis of interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978), the authors assumed that the choice for car versus public transportation would be affected by the perceived structure of interdepedence underlying the decisio situation. Consistent with the authors' predictions, it was found that commuters primarily perceived the decision situation as an accessibility problem whereas students primarily preceived the decision situation as an enviromental problem. Relative to commuters, students exhibited a greater preference for commuting by public transportation, and exhibited a weaker tendency to take expectations regarding others' choices into consideration. These and other findings are discussed in terms of interdependence theory.
Abstract