Rewards to stimulate safety belt use : an overview of research findings.

A multitude of psychological theories - generally in the field of learning and motivation reserve an important place for the principle of reward. In theories varying from those postulated by Skinner and Banduras modern stimulus response theories to theories with a more cognitive orientation, such as Festingers cognitive dissonance theory, goal-setting and expectancy theory, rewards are explicitly regarded as powerful influences on behaviour, even though the principles and presumed mechanisms of effect of the individual theories can vary greatly (see for an overview Lindzey and Aronson, 1985, for example). No matter how different these theories may be, the effect of reward is generally considered greater than that of punishment. Nevertheless, it has been traditional practice in the (Dutch) traffic system for desirable behaviour to be stimulated by rules and laws, resulting in the punishment of offences. The possible role of reward in influencing safe behaviour in traffic is hardly recognised. In recent years, however, this concept is also beginning to reach this field of application. This paper gives an overview of the research that has been performed to determine the effect of rewards (incentives) on safety belt use. In particular the effect of offering material rewards is considered. The greatest proportion of research was performed in the United States: in the Netherlands, only a few studies have been done in this field.