Research Objectives and Hypotheses Tested:
During the Scottish Road Safety Foolsspeed” campaign, which ran from 1999 to 2001, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was utilized to inform both the design of a large-scale intervention and to enhance evaluation criteria. The campaign was obviously supported by a mass media component.
The main objectives were to determine:
Whether TPB is a valid measure of targeted behavior and campaign effectiveness.
The effectiveness of three TV commercial versions that leveraged the three components of TPB: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC).
II. Methodology and Type of Longitudinal Research
The baseline study was conducted in-home and face-to-face by professional market researchers. They utilized a structured questionnaire that covered driver demographics, driving habits, and measured attitudes and behavior according to all the elements of the TPB theoretical model.
As a longitudinal study, the survey was conducted several times – in 1999, 2000, and 2001 – with the addition of measures of advertising impact as a key mediating variable.
III. Sampling Procedure
The other defining characteristic of a cohort longitudinal study is that the target audience for the campaign was a sub-sample of all drivers in Scotland. For the study’s purposes, the general driving population” was defined as drivers aged 17 to 54 who had a valid license, drove at least once a week, and lived in Renfrew. Renfrew was chosen because it had an “affluence/deprivation” profile that represented the general Scottish population. The sampling method used was standard area probability sampling, which controlled for age and gender. Therefore, it can be said that the derived sample accurately represents Renfrew drivers.
IV. Findings
The TPB theoretical construct explains a good deal of the variance in intentions to speed and reported speeding behavior.
In general, the preferred advertising approach creates the desired impact more effectively than explicit, dramatic, and fear-arousing tactics.
Among the three ad materials, Mirror” addressed the Attitude component of TPB and “Simon Says” targeted perceived ease of refraining from speeding. These two ads seemed to have made greater inroads in terms of comprehension, empathy, and receptivity to re-thinking the target viewer’s own attitudes.
During the first three years, Mirror” effectively shifted beliefs and attitudes in the desired directions.
The results for the perceived attitudes of referents or significant others, as well as for PBC and the impact of the three campaigns on behavioral intentions and reported behavior, were equivocal.
Limitations of the Study:
Not enough is known about how to effectively use the TPB model to bring about behavioral change.
The research team did not have enough time to thoroughly analyze the baseline study.
The strategy of mounting three discrete TVCs to address the key components of TPB may be flawed.
Subjective Norms and PBC components may be resistant to change through advertising alone.
The reported frequency of speeding is inherently flawed when compared to measurable data.
The authors engage in perilous circular reasoning by attributing the decrease in reported speeding behavior to being sensitized by exposure to the campaign.
The study did not account for the interaction between the Affective Belief” and “Attitude” components of TBP.
It was not addressed whether social marketing theory should rely on simpler attitude-change models or expand behavior measurement beyond self-report questionnaires and rating scales.
Reference
Stead, M., Tagg, S., MacKintosh, A. M., and Eadie, D. (2005). Development and Evaluation of a Mass Media Theory of Planned Behavior Intervention to Reduce Speeding.” Health Education Research 20(1): 36-50.
