Abstract:

This paper presents models from psychology and sociology for understanding the motivation and process of behaviour change. What is common to all these models is the insight that behaviours change only when there are motivation, opportunity and capability. Simply supplying motivation by stressing the benefits such as saving time or improving the environment is not enough to change how people travel. Behaviour change also needs an environment that supports the new behaviour (such as a reliable infrastructure). And it requires that people possess the basic capability of engaging in the new behaviour, to begin with. Those who do not have this capability – familiarity with mobility service apps or the ability to ride a bike, say – must acquire it before they can be expected to change their behaviour.

As the examples in this paper show, recent media campaigns and other forms of behaviour change communication have drawn on empirical models to create more effective strategies for encouraging sustainable travel. But they also employ techniques widely used in traditional product advertising. The AIDA approach communicates rational benefits along a four-step emotional process consisting of attention, interest, desire and action. The reframing approach provides an altered context of meaning that supports the creation of new values. Finding the right frame is a crucial part of communicating new ideas about mobility and paving new roads to more sustainable travel.