Employer-based programs to motivate safety belt use : a review of short-term and long-term effects.

This article reviews the procedures and results of 28 different programs at nine work settings that increased employees' use of vehicle safety belts from a minimum gain of 12% over baseline to a maximum gain of 285%. Four basic types of employee programs were compared with regard to both immediate and long- term impact: (a) direct and immediate rewards, (b) direct and delayed rewards, (c) indirect and delayed rewards, and (d) awareness /commitment strategies that involved no extrinsic rewards. Consistent with theories of intrinsic motivation and minimal justification, the amount of residual impact was greater for those programs that did not involve extrinsic rewards.