Emotions, habits and rational choices in ecological behaviours: The case of recycling and use of public transportation

Engaging in Pro-Environment Travel Behaviour Research from a Psycho-Social Perspective: A Review of Behavioural Variables and Theories

“…They are activated when the subject is aware of the consequences of his/her own actions, deliberately taken [13] Normative believes They refer to the perceived behavioural expectations of the referent individuals or groups (parents, relatives, friends, etc.) [14,15] Subjective norms They are determined by the combination of normative beliefs with the person's motivation to comply with the different referents Allport's trait theory [17] Personality traits 16 Personality Factors No agreements emerge on the definition (see [16]) [18] Goldberg's Big Five personality traits [19] Emotional response It expresses the affective dimension of the object (e.g., car) related to a choice (e.g., modal choice) that influences such choice [20][21][22] Emotions/Personal Stories Past experience It expresses the life experiences or habits in the past (also in the early stage of life) that influence people choices [23] …”

“…The affective dimension tying some people to their car is not only a psychological factor but is generated by collective cultural and symbolic patterns [36,37]; such aspects were understood very early on by manufacturers, who developed emotion-targeted advertisements. In transport research, emotion as an explanatory variable of modal choice is measured in terms of anticipated emotions, that is, thoughts about future feelings after attaining a specific goal (see [20][21][22]). Emotional response shortcuts rational decision-making and past experience; notably, contact with nature at an early age explains pro-environmental orientation.…”

Definition of Planned and Unplanned Transfer of Public Transport Service and User Decisions to Use Routes with Transfers

“…Rating scales such as the Likert Scale are designed to measure one specific perception of the statement presented to the respondent (May 2011). Rating scales have been commonly used in travel behavior studies (Heath and Gifford 2002;Bamberg et al 2007;Gatersleben and Uzzell 2007;Carrus et al 2008).…”

Does habitual behavior affect the choice of alternative fuel vehicles?

“…The problem is more marked when panel data with very few waves are used, as they fail to capture the full effect of the accumulation of the individual experience that is at the basis of habitual behaviors. Interestingly, according to the psychological literature (Thøgersen, 2006;Carrus, Passafaro, & Bonnes, 2008) the frequency of past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, but they assume the decision process does not involve the evaluation of the characteristics of each alternative, as in the economic theory. Recently, Cherchi, Meloni, and Ortuzar (2013) tested a new way to account for inertia that puts together both approaches.…”