Bryan E. Porter

Critical Review of Behavioral Interventions to Preserve the Environment Research Since 1980

This review integrates and evaluates the environmental-preservation research published during the 1980s. The focus is environmental behavior change as targeted by behavior analysts and others designing interventions to encourage environmental-preservation behavior. A modified taxonomy of behavioral interventions, based on a taxonomy presented by Geller et al., categorizes these reported interventions by antecedent and consequence conditions. Fifty-four studies were categorized and evaluated according to which of these taxonomic interventions were reported. The conclusions were that (a) antecedent conditions using commitment, demonstration, and goal-setting strategies were generally most effective in encouraging environmentally responsible behavior, and (b) consequence conditions were effective in producing behavior change during the experiments duration. However, some other important findings were that (a) much of the research in this field during the 1980s did not directly compare interventions, (b) few meaningful follow-up measures were reported, and those evaluations that included follow-up assessment showed little maintenance of the behavior changes, and (c) many potentially effective intervention strategies have been ignored (i.e., group interventions and penalties). Suggestions for future directions of research to produce and maintain environmental-preservation behaviors are offered.

Predicting Red-Light Running Behavior: A Traffic Safety Study in Three Urban Settings

Red-light running is a frequent and highly dangerous driving act. Reducing this risky behavior depends on understanding its prevalence, as well as the drivers involved. With these aims, the present study provided 5,112 observations of drivers entering six traffic-controlled intersections in three cities. Overall, 35.2% of observed light cycles had at least one red-light runner prior to the onset of opposing traffic. This rate represented approximately 10 violators per observation hour. City differences emerged as important for predicting red-light runners. Higher red-light running rates were observed in cities with larger intersections and higher traffic volumes. Time of day, although limited to the interval from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. when observations occurred, also predicted red-light running. Red-light violators were more prevalent earlier in this period. Further, after controlling for city and time differences, two driver factors were important: safety belt use and ethnicity. Unbuckled and non-Caucasian drivers were more likely to run red lights. The importance of these findings in understanding red-light running and helping communities improve their intersection safety is discussed.

Solid Waste Recovery A Review of Behavioral Programs to Increase Recycling

Twenty-four Earth Days have come and gone and science is still concerned with making our world more proenvironmental. Applied behavioral science in particular has been very active in leading research efforts to develop interventions aimed at encouraging proenvironmental behavior. This article documented the labors of researchers who specifically targeted recycling with behavior change programs. Twenty-seven articles describing 31 experiments were reviewed. The interventions in these articles were categorized into antecedents (i.e., conditions introduced prior to the target behavior) and consequences (i.e., conditions presented after the target behavior occurred). Twenty of the experiments manipulated antecedent conditions as the primary intervention, 10 focused on consequences, and 1 used both. The general conclusion of the review was that the years of effort have produced several successful interventions that showed promise for increasing recycling behavior. Unfortunately, though, very few of these interventions demonstrated response maintenance after being discontinued, a finding common for such interventions not only targeting recycling but behavior change in general. The discussion focused on the need for (a) interventions to motivate long-term changes in behavior and (b) interventions aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated.

A nationwide survey of self-reported red light running: measuring prevalence, predictors, and perceived consequences

A United States probability sample of 880 licensed drivers participated in a telephone survey of red light running perceptions and behaviors. Despite most drivers believing red light running was problematic and dangerous, approximately one in five respondents reported running one or more red lights when entering the last ten signalized intersections. Among several demographic and attitude variables, only age group predicted recent red light running. Specifically, younger respondents were more likely to be violators. Drivers also reported being more likely to run red lights when alone, and were typically in a hurry when speeding up to be beat red lights. Contrary to expectations, frustration was not as important for predicting red light running as it was for other driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, weaving, and gesturing angrily at others. Additionally, drivers perceived and received few consequences for running red lights. Less than 6% had received a traffic ticket for red light running and most believed that police would catch less than 20% of violators. Slightly more than one in ten had been involved in a red light running crash. Respondents most commonly suggested legal initiatives to reduce red light running. Accordingly, we recommend traffic safety experts pursue interventions that apply immediate and consistent negative consequences to violators to change the publics red light running perceptions and behavior.

The Effect of Commitment on Adoption and Diffusion of Grass Cycling

Using a design that also permitted an assessment of the extent to which any increase in grass-cycling behavior diffused to the neighbors of treated participants, two types of commitment strategies for promoting residential grass cycling (i.e., not bagging grass clippings) were investigated. Baseline data were collected over a period of 4 weeks to determine which residents in each of three homogeneous neighborhoods bagged grass clippings for curbside pickup. A total of 558 houses observed to bag grass clippings during this period were included as participants in the experiment. Following baseline, the neighborhoods were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Results indicated that participants who made a commitment to grass cycle and to talk to their neighbors had grass bags present significantly less often than either the commitment-only or control participants. This effect was present during the 4-week intervention period and also was sustained during an immediate 4-week follow-up period and a delayed 4-week follow-up period 12 months later. There also was a diffusion effect in which the neighbors of targeted participants showed significantly more grass cycling than controls, and this effect continued to increase through the 1-year follow-up measure. On the other hand, neither commitment-only participants nor their neighbors differed from controls during any period of the experiment.

In-car cell phone use and hazards following hands free legislation

Objective. A new law took effect in Finland at the beginning of 2003 which prohibits the handheld use of mobile phones while driving a motor vehicle. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the law on phone usage and self-reported safety during the first few months and 16 months later to determine whether the initial level of compliance with the law had been sustained. Methods. Data were collected by Gallup home poll before (spring 2002) and after legislation took effect (spring 2003 and 2004). A representative sample of drivers who owned a cell phone (n = 836 to 966) was interviewed each time. On-road observations were also collected in four cities for 2003 and 2004. Results. Just after the law, 97% of drivers were aware of the new hands free legislation. In sharp contrast to the pre-law rate of 16%, 43% reported not using the phone while driving immediately after the law and 41% one year later. The occasional users especially reduced their use of phones while driving. The law was correlated to reductions in self-reported handheld use of cell phones while driving, from 55.6% pre-law to 15.2% immediately after passage. In spite of this change, however, the hands free legislation did not reduce self-reported involvement of Finnish drivers in phone-related hazards. Handheld usage was still lower in 2004 than pre-law (20,0%), but the 32% increase from 2003 was significant. Observational data collected in Finland in 2003 and 2004 showed an even higher upward trend in handheld use (87% increase, from 3.1% to 5.8%; pre-law data were not available), and matched a similar increase reported by McCartt and Geary (2004) in their observational evaluation of New Yorks handheld mobile phone law. Conclusion. The self-reports indicate that the hands-free law reduced handheld phone use, among occasional users especially, but did not reduce phone-related hazards. The effect of the law on phone use substantially declined within one year.

Turning off the cameras: Red light running characteristics and rates after photo enforcement legislation expired

In 2005 the Virginia legislature allowed the law permitting automated enforcement for red light running violations to expire. An opportunity presented itself to evaluate what would happen to red light running behavior at formerly enforced locations. Using intersections previously studied to document one citys deployment and use of photo enforcement (see Martinez and Porter, 2006), we mobilized multiple pre-expiration, immediate post-expiration, and one year post-expiration observations at camera-enforced intersections as well as two control groups consisting of same-city and a different citys non-camera locations. More than 2700 direct observations were made in these time periods, documenting the near-immediate increase in red light running at previously camera-enforced intersections. These intersections had a rate that nearly tripled immediately after the law expired, and more than quadrupled one year later. Further, within a year of the laws expiration, the low red light running rates at the previous-camera locations had recidivated to red light running rates of the control locations. Driver characteristics were not significant predictors of these rates once intersection group and traffic volume (and their interaction) were controlled, meaning red light running in this study was not linked to a particular driver type. Our results are important for scholars of intersection safety, as this is the first known peer-reviewed study documenting estimates of what could happen when automated enforcement is removed.

Human Factors in Injury Control

A person’s interaction with the environment represents a system for research and focus. Human factors is a discipline dedicated to studying this system. The authors provide a summary of how the field human factors informs and enhances injury control programs. They introduce perception, cognition, and environmental design components that should be considered; review automation and workload issues; and discuss best practice recommendations for increasing safe product use as well. Finally, the authors offer lessons learned from human factors approaches to safety at large and suggest future areas of study. Specifically, they note that investigating behavioral adaptation is important to extend intervention effects. They also note that human factors approaches have been used extensively in occupational and transportation areas but can be applied to other areas of injury control that are worth exploring.

Development and Validation of the Cultural Competence of Program Evaluators (CCPE) Self-Report Scale

No self-report measure of cultural competence currently exists in program evaluation. Adapting items from cultural competence measures in fields such as counseling and nursing, the researchers developed the Cultural Competence of Program Evaluators (CCPE) self-report scale. The goals of this study were to validate the CCPE and to assess differences in level of cultural competence among program evaluators based on various demographic variables. The sample consisted of 174 evaluators. Principal components analyses revealed three factors of the CCPE: cultural knowledge, cultural skills, and cultural awareness. The overall alpha of the CCPE was .88, and convergent validity was established via significant positive correlations between the CCPE and the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI). Additionally, individuals who had received cultural competence training scored significantly higher on the CCPE, and receipt of cultural competence training was a significant predictor of scores on the CCPE.

Experiential exposure to texting and walking in virtual reality: A randomized trial to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior

BACKGROUND Distracted pedestrian behavior is a significant public health concern, as research suggests distracted pedestrians have significantly higher risk of injury compared to fully attentive pedestrians. Despite this, efforts to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior are scant. OBJECTIVE Using a repeated measures experimental research design, we implemented a behavioral intervention to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior in the high-risk environment of an urban college campus and simultaneously monitored behavior on a control urban college campus not exposed to the intervention. We had two primary aims: reduce perceived vulnerability to injury among individual pedestrians and reduce distracted pedestrian behavior in the environment through a change in community-based norms. METHODS The hallmark of the behavioral intervention was a week-long opportunity for community members to experience personally the risks of distracted pedestrian behavior by attempting to cross a virtual pedestrian environment street while text-messaging. This was supplemented by traditional and social marketing and publicity through various campus partners. A sample of 219 individuals completed self-report surveys about perceived vulnerability to distracted pedestrian injury before experiencing the distracted virtual street-crossing and again after 2 weeks and 5 months. Observational assessment of distracted pedestrian behavior was conducted at a busy intersection on the campus as well as at a control campus not exposed to the intervention at baseline, post-intervention, 10 weeks, and 6 months. RESULTS The intervention achieved mixed results. Individuals exposed to texting within a simulated pedestrian environment reported changes in their intentions to cross streets while distracted and in perceived vulnerability to risk while crossing streets, but we did not witness evidence of changed community norms based on observed rates of distracted pedestrian behavior before and after the intervention compared to a control campus not exposed to the intervention. DISCUSSION The intervention created some change in self-reported intentions and thoughts but did not create significant behavior change on the campus exposed to it. Further efforts to develop interventions that will yield a reduction in distracted pedestrian behavior are needed.