Applying the Principles of Persuasion for Travel Behaviour Change
The Cathedral Range from the TUTI office at Taggerty
Project Description

Since an underlying issue in all TravelSmart programs is trying to get people to re-consider their travel options, there is essentially an element of persuasive communications which underlie these programs. Research being conducted through this PhD research program, at the Institute of Transport Studies at Monash University, seeks to improve the uptake and effectiveness of a range of TravelSmart initiatives by incorporating the  psychological principles of persuasion into the communication elements of these programs.  The six Principles of Persuasion being considered are:
The application of these principles is being tested in a real-life TravelSmart program being implemented in the area of Darebin in inner-metropolitan Melbourne. Among other things, a Before and After survey is being conducted to assess the impact of the Persuasion Principles on the effectiveness of the TravelSmart program.


Publications

Seethaler, R.K. and Rose, G. (2003). "Application of Psychological Principles to Promote Travel Behaviour Change". 26th Australasian Transport Research Forum, Wellington, NZ, October 1-3 (pdf, 448k)

Seethaler, R.K. (2004). "Using the six principles of persuasion to promote travel behaviour change - preliminary findings of a TravelSmart pilot test". A paper presented at the 26th Conference of Australian Institutes of Transport Research (CAITR), Melbourne (pdf, 392k)