A BEHAVIOR CHANGE MODEL FOR FUTURE NOISE ABATEMENT CAMPAIGNS IN SWITZERLAND

摘要

More than 1.2 million people which equals about 15% of the population in Switzerland suffer from road traffic noise exceeding the threshold limits. Also many everyday activities are a source of noise. Creating noise and suffering its effects, is the individual. Therefore aside from technical improvement and government policies, a potential for noise reduction is assumed using motivation of the individual for noise reducing behavior. Because of poor knowledge in annoyance research regarding interventions, as a first step a theoretical psychological model was established in order to explain the change of noise-producing behavior. The model is based on a review of the existing theories in the field of general and environmental psychology, adapted to the noise topic. Two groups of theories were reviewed: multistage models for explaining behavior change in different phases and continuum behavior models. The new behavior change model identifies five stages the individual passes through, from the creation of a goal for actively causing less noise, to maintaining altered behaviors which cause less noise. In a further step the theoretical model was concretized and specified to the topic of traffic noise behavior with the help of qualitative interviews with 16 individuals partially experienced in noise prevention work. Although being a slightly uncommon technique for elaborating a psychological model, these interviews helped to further specify the relevant factors (variables) within the process of changing noise-producing behavior, as well as partly rearranging their affiliation to a particular stage. In a next step there will be a quantitative online survey in Switzerland to test the semi-theoretical model with its variables, regarding their value and strength of influence as well as correlations to each other. Based on the validated model possible interventions will be conceived in a last step for supporting a change in noise producing behavior.