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This paper reports on a study currently underway in Manchester asking 'Why do drivers not rationally reduce their car use as the system grinds towards gridlock?'. The authors have been using interviews and focus groups augmented by a sentence completion task to look at the perceived psychological benefits of continued car use, from which a pilot survey and a large scale national questionnaire survey are being developed. In this paper they ask: What's the problem? What is the desired end state? How might social psychology contribute to the transition from start state to goal state? and summarise some early results from the first stage of the research. In brief: the problem is the seemingly inexorable increase in the congestion on UK roads which compromises the combination of autonomy and mobility that the automobile promises. The target end-state has recently been set by government at a 10% reduction in car use. Social psychological theory and methodology can assist: (1) in the analysis of the problem; (2) in identifying the stages typically involved in changing people's attitudes and behaviour; (3) in assessing the acceptability of 'push' and 'pull' policy measures (Steg and Vlek, 1997); (4) in identifying the perceived situational barriers to switching transport mode; (5) in identifying the current, perceived psychological benefits and disbenefits of car use and public transport; (6) in identifying the psychological characteristics of 'switchers' and 'stayers' - those more and less likely to change transport mode use; and (7) in endeavouring to anticipate unintended consequences (eg for road safety) both during and after the transition. The authors believe the psychological benefits of car use must be countered in any initiatives aimed at persuading people to use their cars less. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 492593.
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