MESSAGE FRAMING TO REDUCE AUTOMOBILE IDLING

摘要

This work aims to develop interventions to reduce automobile idling, where a driver runs the engine unnecessarily while not moving. Idling is a serious problem that wastes fuel, pollutes the air, and releases greenhouse gas emissions. Drivers idle for different reasons, including misconceptions about the time needed to warm up their engines and how much additional fuel is expended by turning the engine off and back on. Information-based interventions, i.e., messages to address idling, may therefore work more effectively to change behavior by correcting such misconceptions than for other types of pro-environmental behaviors where corresponding misconceptions may not exist. This work incorporates Regulatory Focus Theory, a social-psychological framework which differentiates between promotion- and prevention-focused individuals. Furthermore, messages are framed with respect to idling-relevant concerns that participants identify - finance, health, or the environment. Participants were asked to express behavioral intention and engagement in response to messages tailored for their regulatory focus and domain of concern. Results revealed that 1) participants prioritized finance and health much more often than the environment; 2) most participant categories responded well to their targeted messages; 3) Promotion/Finance participants seemed especially challenging to motivate, but modifications to their targeted messages led to improved results.