|
Abstract
|
Introduction
Environmental stressors such as particulate matter, noise, and heat can cause severe health issues. Cyclists and pedestrians in urban areas are exposed to environmental stressors on their everyday routes through the city. While these stressors have been monitored by measurement stations in the past, the use of wearable sensors is becoming more popular. Wearable sensors allow measurements with high spatiotemporal resolution and can be used to track individuals' exposure while they are moving.
Methods
In a field experiment (final N = 109), we applied Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1975) to test the effects of wearable sensors and receiving feedback on exposure levels of particulate matter, noise, and heat in the city of Leipzig in Germany. Participants in the intervention group used the sensors on their everyday routes through the city for three days while the control group did not use the sensors.
Results
Wearing the sensors and receiving feedback about exposure levels significantly increased participants' perception of particulate matter as a health threat. While there were no direct effects of the intervention on intentions to choose less polluted routes, participants with low routing habits were motivated to protect themselves from environmental stressors after using the sensor. Participants' motivation to take part in collective action for a less polluted city decreased, unless they were highly identified with the group of cyclists.
Conclusions
The experiment shows that wearable sensors and feedback on environmental stressors can lead to stronger threat perceptions. However, to motivate healthier route choices, this technology should offer alternative routing suggestions to elevate the user's capacity to cope with the health threat.
Language: en |