Carol M. Werner

Walkable Route Perceptions and Physical Features Converging Evidence for En Route Walking Experiences

Guided walks near a light rail stop in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, were examined using a 2 (gender) × 3 (route walkability: low-mixed-, or high-walkability features) design. Trained raters confirmed that more walkable segments had more traffic, environmental, and social safety; pleasing aesthetics; natural features; pedestrian amenities; and land use diversity (using the Irvine-Minnesota physical environment audit) and a superior social milieu rating. According to tape-recorded open-ended descriptions, university student participants experienced walkable route segments as noticeably safer, with a more positive social environment, fewer social and physical incivilities, and more attractive natural and built environment features. According to closed-ended scales, walkable route segments had more pleasant social and/or environmental atmosphere and better traffic safety. Few gender differences were found. Results highlight the importance of understanding subjective experiences of walkability and suggest that these experiences should be an additional focus of urban design.

Temporal aspects of computer-mediated communication

Abstract The present paper introduces a transactional framework for studying the temporal aspects of computer-mediated interaction. The transactional world view is an approach to understanding phenomena which proposes that events are best viewed as holistic unities. From this perspective, persons, environments, and temporal qualities are inseparable and mutually defining aspects of phenomena. Computers provide a wholly new medium of communication and the transactional perspective provides a particularly useful approach for examining how social interaction operates as part of this environmental context. This paper focuses on temporal aspects of social interaction as it occurs in various computer-related settings. Aspects of temporal scale, sequencing, pace, and salience are applied to computer interaction at the level of the individual, the dyad, and the group. Recommendations are given for using the framework to guide research, intervention, and further theory development.

Commitment and Behavior Change A Meta-Analysis and Critical Review of Commitment-Making Strategies in Environmental Research

Commitment making is commonly regarded as an effective way to promote proenvironmental behaviors. The general idea is that when people commit to a certain behavior, they adhere to their commitment, and this produces long-term behavior change. Although this idea seems promising, the results are mixed. In the current article, the authors investigate whether and why commitment is effective. To do so, the authors first present a meta-analysis of environmental studies containing a commitment manipulation. Then, the authors investigate the psychological constructs that possibly underlie the commitment effect. They conclude that commitment making indeed leads to behavior change in the short- and long term, especially when compared with control conditions. However, a better understanding is needed of the possible underlying mechanisms that guide the commitment effect. The authors see commitment making as a potentially useful technique that could be improved by following up on findings from fundamental research. They provide suggestions for future research and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of commitment-making techniques.

Commitment, behavior, and attitude change: An analysis of voluntary recycling

Abstract This project was designed to help local agencies select the least effortful but most impactful method of inducing residents to participate in a free curbside recycling program. It also provided an opportunity to study attitude change. Results indicated that residents making a written commitment were more likely to participate (and to participate more than once) than those who learned about the program face-to-face, by telephone, or from only a flyer (all residents received the flyer; the signature-commitment and face-to-face groups also received telephone calls to prepare them for the experimenters visit). Although groups had similar recycling histories—and by implication similar prior attitudes—those who participated had more favorable attitudes after 4 months than those who did not participate. In contrast to research showing that commitment could lead to behavior without corresponding changes in attitudes, the data supported the view that commitment and behavior can lead to changes in attitudes. The study sets the stage for systematic examination of the hypothesis that at first commitment leads to behavior without attitude change, but over time, if the behavior continues, attitude change occurs.

Relinquishment of Control and the Type A Behavior Pattern.

We investigated the role of information processing in the control relinquishment decisions of Type As and Bs. Pairs of subjects worked independently on a task and received feedback indicating that their partner had performed at a comparable or superior level. On a second task, subjects combined their efforts and made decisions concerning who would work on different parts of that task. One third of the subjects made this decision before completing an evaluation of the initial performances. Another third completed the evaluation without knowing that they would subsequently make a control decision. The final third of the subjects completed their evaluations knowing that a control decision would follow. Results indicated that when the evaluations were completed last, or when the evaluations were completed first but without knowledge of the impending decision, Type As relinquished less control to a superior partner than did Type Bs. When the evaluations were completed with knowledge of an impending control decision, Type As and Bs did not differ in their decisions. These results suggest that under certain conditions, Type As use an automatic or mindless decision style with potentially maladaptive consequences.

A Transactional Approach to Interpersonal Relations: Physical Environment, Social Context and Temporal Qualities

This article overviews a program of research that has explored the implications of a transactional worldview for research on personal relationships. In particular, the present article emphasizes the role of the physical environment in relationships. It briefly describes our theoretical perspective and delineates the methods by which we study personal relationships. The main body of the article focuses on three kinds of relationship (acquaintance, family, neighbors), emphasizing the significance of the physical and social environments for individual and relational viability.

Temporal Aspects of Homes

There are many ways of studying homes, each focusing on a different aspect, such as physical qualities, satisfaction, use patterns, and phenomenological experiences. Our thesis is that, central to any of these aspects of homes, and therefore integral to the distinction between house and home,are the temporal qualities of linear and cyclical time and their subordinate qualities of salience, scale, pace, and rhythm. The goal of this chapter is to propose a general framework that describes these key temporal qualities in the context of a broader transactional orientation. The chapter has four major sections: (1) a description of the transactional world view and of the home as a transactional unity; (2) a discussion of the proposed temporal framework bolstered by examples from a variety of societies; (3) two case studies that demonstrate the application of the framework; and (4) potential research and practical implications of the model.

Transit Use, Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index Changes: Objective Measures Associated With Complete Street Light-Rail Construction

OBJECTIVES We assessed effects on physical activity (PA) and weight among participants in a complete street intervention that extended a light-rail line in Salt Lake City, Utah. METHODS Participants in the Moving Across Places Study resided within 2 kilometers of the new line. They wore accelerometers and global positioning system (GPS) loggers for 1 week before and after rail construction. Regression analyses compared change scores of participants who never rode transit with continuing, former, and new riders, after adjustment for control variables (total n = 537). RESULTS New riders had significantly more accelerometer-measured counts per minute than never-riders (P < .01), and former riders had significantly fewer (P < .01). New riders lost (P < .05) and former riders gained (P < .01) weight. Former riders lost 6.4 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) per 10 hours of accelerometer wear (P < .01) and gained 16.4 minutes of sedentary time (P < .01). New riders gained 4.2 MVPA minutes (P < .05) and lost 12.8 (P < .05) sedentary minutes per 10 hours accelerometer wear. CONCLUSIONS In light of the health benefits of transit ridership in the complete street area, research should address how to encourage more sustained ridership.

Transactional Qualities of Neighborhood Social Networks A Case Study of "Christmas Street"

A transactional approach to research was illustrated through an analysis of social networks on a street. Patterns of interrelationships among multiple dimensions of networks were identified in summer and at Christmas. The assessment revealed relative continuity in social relationships, but change in the way in which social, affective, and environmental aspects of behavior were linked at the two times. The socially and psychologically bonded networks did not exhibit more home upkeep/landscaping in summer, but did decorate their homes more extensively at Christmas, supporting the view that the relationship/attachment/environmental aspects would fit together differently at the two times. The study suggests that neighborhood networks can be fruitfully understood as dynamic, multifaceted unities and that a transactional strategy can be a useful part of a total research program.

Changing homeowners’ use of toxic household products: a transactional approach

Abstract An education and behavior change program was developed to reduce citizens’ use and waste of toxic household products. The program was informed by a transactional world view and has the following key principles: embed individuals’ change in their social groups (in this case, a carefully designed group discussion); use persuasive messages about behaviors embedded in the physical environment (e.g. “behavior streams” and “scripts”); use messages that provide accessible attitudes (strong, scrutinized messages); and encourage long-term change (e.g. behavioral regulation and “institutional” support for the change). Questionnaires indicated that—since the discussion—33% of the respondents had begun proper disposal and 36% had begun sharing leftovers rather than disposing of them. A comparison of group members who had and had not attended the meeting indicated significant differences on all questionnaire items. Respondents’ estimates of what group members would do were considerably different, supporting the idea that actually seeing friends discuss new behaviors is an important part of individual attitude and behavior change.