This paper seeks to relate social psychology to driver behaviour, using a range of psychological theories and techniques to apply to the problems of traffic safety. Social psychological theories hold that behavioural change is best effected by changing attitudes. Some models of behaviour are examined: theory of planned behaviour, protection motivation theory, and health belief model. Attribution theory is used to understand why drivers react badly to the behaviour of other road users, and several cognitive biases are detailed to explain this. The author suggests that compliance needs to be fostered at an early age, as does the choice of travel mode to avoid increasing car use. A model of behaviour change for this last step is proposed. For the covering abstract see ITRD E113725 (C 22328 CD-ROM).
Samenvatting