Interpersonal Influence and Pro-Societal Consumption: A Review of Diffusion, Conformity, Dissemination, Translation and Reflexivity

Understanding consumption behavior will facilitate the successful deployment of new pro-societal products and behaviors. Interpersonal influence is thought to play an important role in the successive adoption of pro-societal products and behaviors within groups across time, but processes of influence are poorly understood. This paper begins by presenting a typology for new products according functional, symbolic and pro-societal attributes. Five perspectives on interpersonal influence and pro-societal consumption behavior are identified and summarized. Contagion focuses on the effect of functional information flowing among people or groups. Conformity focuses on individual thresholds and motivations to mimic others. Dissemination is the intentional diffusion of information by a core group of motivated individuals. Translation is the tendency for various social groups to negotiate interpretations and valuations of the technology. Finally, reflexivity is a theoretical framework that explains the motivations of individuals seeking to establish lifestyle practices consistent with their self concept in an uncertain modern world. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective are discussed

Functional, symbolic and societal frames for automobility: implications for sustainability transitions

Automobility refers to the continued, self-perpetuating dominance of privately-owned, gasoline-powered vehicles used primarily by single occupants—a system which clearly has broad environmental and societal impacts. Despite increasing societal interest in transitions to more sustainable transportation technologies, there has been little consideration of how such innovations might challenge, maintain or support different aspects of automobility, and what that means for technology deployment, transport policy, and user practices. To bring attention to the complexity and apparent durability of the automobility system, in this paper we develop a conceptual framework that explores automobility through a categorization of frames, or shared cultural meanings. This framework moves beyond the typical focus on private, functional considerations of user choice, financial costs and time use to also consider symbolic and societal frames of automobility that exist among users, non-users, industry, policymakers and other relevant social groups. We illustrate this framework with eight particular frames of automobility that fall into four broad categories: private-functional frames such as (1) cocooning and fortressing and (2) mobile digital offices; private-symbolic frames such as (3) gender identity and (4) social status; societal-functional frames such as (5) environmental stewardship and (6) suburbanization; and societal-symbolic frames such as (7) self-sufficiency and (8) innovative adopters. Finally, we start the process of discussing several transportation innovations in light of these automobility frames, namely electrified, autonomous and shared mobility—examining early evidence for which frames would be challenged or supported by such transitions. We believe that appreciation of the complex and varied frames of automobility can help to enrichen discussion of transitions and policy relating to sustainable transportation

The roles of users in electric, shared and automated mobility transitions

This paper synthesizes insights from 19 peer-reviewed articles published in this Special Issue on the roles of users in shared, electric and automated mobility. While many researchers and stakeholders remain inspired by the potential low costs and societal benefits of these innovations, less is known about the real-world potential for uptake and usage. To better understand the likelihood and impacts of widespread uptake, we explore the perceptions of actual and potential users, including drivers, passengers, owners, and members, as well as other stakeholders such as pedestrians, planners, and policymakers. The Special Issue examines a range of cases, including plug-in electric vehicles, car-share and bike-share programs, ride-hailing and automated vehicles. For each innovation, we organize insights on user perceptions of benefits and drawbacks into four categories. Much of the research to date focuses on the first category, private-functional perceptions, mainly total cost of ownership (e.g., $/km), time use and comfort. Our synthesis however spans the other three categories for each innovation: private-symbolic perceptions include the potential for social signaling and communicating identity; societal-functional perceptions include GHG emissions, public safety and noise; and societal-symbolic perceptions include inspiring pro-societal behavior in others, and the potential to combat or reinforce the status quo system of “automobility”. Further, our synthesis demonstrates how different theories and methods can be more or less equipped to “see” different perception categories. We also summarize findings regarding the characteristics of early users, as well as practical insights for strategies and policies seeking societally-beneficial outcomes from mass deployment of these innovations

Modelling the influence of peers’ attitudes on choice behaviour: theory and empirical application on electric vehicle preferences

While the importance of social influence on transport-related choices is commonly acknowledged within the transport and travel behaviour research community, there remain several challenges in modelling influence in practice. This paper proposes a new analytical approach to measure the effects of attitudes of peers on the decision making process of the individual. Indeed, while most of the previous literature focused its attention on capturing conformity to a certain real or hypothetical choice, we investigate the subtle effect of attitudes that underlies this choice. Specifically, the suggested measure enables us to model the correlated effect that might indirectly affect the individual’s choice within a social group. It combines detailed information on the attitudes in the individual’s social network and the social proximity of the individuals in the social network. To understand its behavioural implications on the individual’s choice, the individual’s peer attitude variable is tested in different components of a hybrid choice model. Our results show that the inclusion of this variable indirectly affects the decision making process of the individual as the peers’ attitudes are significantly related to the latent attitude of the individual. On the other hand, it does not seem to directly affect the utility of an alternative as a source of systematic heterogeneity nor does it work as a manifestation of the latent variable, i.e. as an indicator

Consumers Continue To Be Confused About Electric Vehicles: Comparing Awareness among Canadian New Car Buyers in 2013 and 2017

Despite policy support and technological progress, consumer adoption of electric vehicles remains limited globally. One important barrier to electric vehicle adoption may be limited consumer awareness. We investigate trends in consumer awareness, familiarity, and experience with electric vehicles by comparing cross-sectional survey responses from two representative samples of Canadian new vehicle-buyers collected in 2013 (n = 2922) and in 2017 (n = 1808). While a significantly higher proportion of 2017 respondents have \u27heard of\u27 key electric vehicle models, stated familiarity and experience are low for both samples. Further, about three-quarters of respondents in both samples are confused about the basic notion of how to refuel (or recharge) electric vehicles—and how these vehicles differ from hybrids. Conversely, over half of 2017 respondents report having seen at least one electric vehicle charger in public, which is more than double the proportion reported in the 2013 sample. These trends hold in analyses of three Canadian provinces, including two that have engaged in significant consumer outreach activities over this time frame. Overall, in contrast to expectations, our results suggest that consumer awareness remains low and stagnant, which may hinder market growth and inhibit the climate mitigation potential of electric vehicles

Exploring the Role of Cities in Electrifying Passenger Transportation

Key Takeaways1. The electrification of passenger vehicles should be one part of a city’s transportation plan. Shifting from internal combustion engine vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) can improve urban air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce energy consumption.2. Recent studies show that electric vehicle awareness is low even in mature markets; cities should promote electric vehicles to residents by leveraging existing promotional campaigns.3. Various financial and non-financial incentives can effectively encourage electric vehicle uptake, including: free, discounted, or preferential-location parking; free or reduced road and bridge tolls; and allowing electric vehicles to drive in bus or carpool lanes.4. Several cities are restricting or planning to restrict the access that internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) have to certain areas. If these restrictions apply to most (or all) passenger ICEVs, they can promote PEV purchase and use in cities.5. Infrastructure development in cities should follow the same fundamental approach as that used outside of cities. The priority should be ensuring that PEV owners and prospective PEV buyers have access to charging at or near home. Workplace and public charging should be developed for those who cannot access charging at or near home.6. Cities should be strategic in their approach, first identifying the goals they want to achieve, and then exploring what steps they can take to meet these goals. The steps available will likely differ between cities due to the different ways in which roads, parking, and any other vehicle infrastructure is governed

An interdisciplinary assessment of climate engineering strategies

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12 (2014): 280–287, doi:10.1890/130030.Mitigating further anthropogenic changes to the global climate will require reducing greenhouse-gas emissions (“abatement”), or else removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and/or diminishing solar input (“climate engineering”). Here, we develop and apply criteria to measure technical, economic, ecological, institutional, and ethical dimensions of, and public acceptance for, climate engineering strategies; provide a relative rating for each dimension; and offer a new interdisciplinary framework for comparing abatement and climate engineering options. While abatement remains the most desirable policy, certain climate engineering strategies, including forest and soil management for carbon sequestration, merit broad-scale application. Other proposed strategies, such as biochar production and geological carbon capture and storage, are rated somewhat lower, but deserve further research and development. Iron fertilization of the oceans and solar radiation management, although cost-effective, received the lowest ratings on most criteria. We conclude that although abatement should remain the central climate-change response, some low-risk, cost-effective climate engineering approaches should be applied as complements. The framework presented here aims to guide and prioritize further research and analysis, leading to improvements in climate engineering strategies.NSF grant #1103575 supported KRMM

From flying rockets to Tesla: examining the sustainable mobility preferences of primary school children in Denmark and the Netherlands

The relationship between children and cars is not directly obvious, but they are a core group of passengers moving daily from and to school and they are future potential buyers. Moreover, many of the values, worldviews, and patterns of energy (and mobility) consumption enshrined in adults become formed and perhaps cemented in childhood. Lastly, children are not directly concerned with many of the choices and information that adults handle, so measuring what they know could proxy for popular knowledge in society. This paper offers a first international comparison between 587 surveyed schoolchildren between 9-13 years of age in Denmark and the Netherlands on EV knowledge and current and future car transport. Results indicate that national and regional context matter, as do gender, age, and to a certain extent the level experience with low-carbon innovations such as electric vehicles. In general, however, children rank the environmental impact of cars just below personal safety and we can conclude that they are aware of EVs and their main benefits. Simultaneously, they also know that EVs are costlier to purchase. Most important, the children overwhelmingly agree on the future direction of car-based transport with cars that are safer, more energy efficient and alternatively fueled

Dismissive and deceptive car dealerships create barriers to electric vehicle adoption at the point of sale

This study investigates the role of car dealerships in the electrification of passenger transport, namely their sales advice about the purchase and use of electric vehicles (EVs). Because most consumers do not have pre-existing knowledge of EVs, and current market conditions favour petrol and diesel vehicles, car dealership experiences may strongly influence EV purchasing decisions. Here we show that car dealerships pose a significant barrier at the point of sale due to a perceived lack of business case viability in relation to petrol and diesel vehicles. In 126 shopping experiences at 82 car dealerships across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, we find dealers were dismissive of EVs, misinformed shoppers on vehicle specifications, omitted EVs from the sales conversation and strongly oriented customers towards petrol and diesel vehicle options. Dealer’s technological orientation, willingness to sell, and displayed knowledge of EVs were the main contributors to likely purchase intentions. These findings combined with expert interviews suggest that government and industry signalling affect sales strategies and purchasing trends. Policy and business strategies that address barriers at the point of sale are needed to accelerate EV adoption

Humanizing hydrocarbon frontiers: the “lived experience” of shale gas fracking in the United Kingdom’s Fylde communities

In this study, we explore the lived experiences of communities at the frontier of shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom. We ask: How do local people experience shale gas development? What narratives and reasoning do individuals use to explain their support, opposition or ambivalence to unconventional hydrocarbon developments? How do they understand their lived experiences changing over time, and what sorts of coping strategies do they rely upon? To do so, we draw insights from semi-structured interviews with 31 individuals in Lancashire, England, living or working near the only active shale gas extraction operation in the UK until the government moratorium was announced in December of 2019. Through these data, we identify several themes of negative experiences, including “horrendous” participation, community “abuse,” disillusionment and “disgust,” and earthquakes with the potential to “ruin” lives. We also identify themes of positive experiences emphasizing togetherness and community “gelling”, environmental “awareness,” everyday energy security with gas as a “bridging fuel,” and local employment with “high quality jobs.” Finally, we identify themes of ambivalent and temporally dynamic experiences with shale gas that move from neutral to negative regarding vehicle traffic, and neutral to positive regarding disgust with protesting behaviour and the diversion of community resources. Our study offers context to high level policy concerns and also humanizes community and resident experiences close to fracking sites