Citation

Kramer J, Petzoldt T. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2023; 93: 204-221.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2023.01.006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Framing interventions that emphasize behavioral consequences are currently gaining prominence for promoting pro-environmental behaviors like eco-driving. Eco-driving encompasses those driving behaviors that positively affect the vehicle's fuel or energy consumption. To investigate how eco-driving tips with highlighted behavioral consequences promote eco-driving motivations and behaviors in everyday life, we conducted a longitudinal online experiment. For this, vehicle owners that are registered in a participants panel of a German vehicle manufacturer (N = 402) were recruited via e-mail invitation. They filled out two online surveys over the course of one month (NT1 = 281; NT2 = 228). As part of the first survey, participants were randomly assigned to a framing condition in which either CO2 (environmental framing), pollutant (altruistic framing), or monetary savings (monetary framing) of eco-driving were highlighted, or the control group. We examined whether the framed tips increased short-term eco-driving motivation and intention as well as medium-term eco-driving behavior change. As expected, participants rated the savings of environmental and altruistic framing (i.e., CO2/ pollutant savings) as worthier than the monetary savings. However, individuals who were exposed to framed eco-driving information independent of framing content reported an increase of eco-driving behavior, compared to the control group. Therefore, researchers and practitioners should find ways how to communicate framed eco-driving information to drivers.

Language: en

Keywords

Eco-driving; Emission savings; Framing; Intervention; Longitudinal online experiment; Pro-environmental behavior