This paper considers the dynamic aspects of the role psychology plays, or might play, within the framework of transportation science. The basic tenet is that, like other branches of science, transportation science is subject to a periodically reverting movement, first away from and then again towards the acceptance of 'internal' or 'mental' processes as determinants of travel behaviour. Since psychology as a science specifically addresses the issue of 'internal' processes, its perceived significance in such fields as transport varies depending on the phase of this tidal movement: sometimes it provides guidance, sometimes it serves as no more than a (perhaps not even very convenient) aid. Two basic types of model that psychologists normally use for the description and explanation of behaviour are the input-output models and the cognitive process model. Input-output models (or stimulus-response models) are close relatives of the conventional aggregate and disaggregate travel demand models of transportation science. As such they are not too psychological, even when developed by psychologists themselves. Cognitive (human information processing) models on the other hand make detailed assumptions about how perceptions, decisions, and actions of travellers come about, in a way that has until now - hardly ever been considered in conventional models. The current trend in transport policy towards greater attention for 'lifestyle' and other 'subjective' determinants of travel, puts a greater demand on such more detailed processing models.
Abstract