Schaffner, Dorothea
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Quantifizierung der Wirkung von Elementen des Strassenraums auf die gefahrene Geschwindigkeit
Energy Efficient Homes: The Role of Social Norms and Influencers in Homeowners’ Decision Making
The building sector plays a significant role in climate change due to carbon emissions and energy over-consumption related to the use of non-renewable energy sources and insufficient insulation. Private homeowners could contribute to achieving climate change targets in the building sector by refurbishing their homes to meet stricter energy efficiency standards. However, the realization of respective investments in energy-efficient heating systems or retrofitting remains insufficient. Against this background, drivers and barriers of homeowners’ decision making have been investigated by a considerable number of empirical studies. These previous studies have focused on economic and rational determinants of investment decisions, finding only little support for the influence of determinants such as subsidies or energy savings. Consequently, the present study proposes a novel approach to better understand the relevant factors of decision-making. Featuring a socio-psychological perspective this study explores homeowners’ decision-making within a social context. Thereby the study includes the viewpoint of homeowners as well as relevant influencers such as installers. A qualitative study with ten semi-structured interviews was conducted. The sample consisted of six homeowners and four installers. Findings reveal that social norms (e.g., opinions of friends and neighbors) as well as recommendations of influencers (such as installers) play a crucial role to persuade homeowner to invest in energy-efficient homes. Based on these findings, the study proposes several measures that address social norms (best practice examples, case studies) and suggests including installers as important target groups in campaigns promoting energy-efficient homes
Self-explaining roads: Effects of road design on perception and speed choice
Since speed is a crucial factor contributing to car accidents, one of the greatest potentials for improving road safety lies in reducing driving speed (Aarts and van Schagen, 2006). Conventional measures such as speed limits and law enforcement have their merit but also limitations. A complementary measure to achieve speed reduction is based on the concept of self-explaining roads (SER; Theeuwes & Godthelp, 1995). The concept postulates that road design impacts speed choice based on psychological factors of perception. Previous research has demonstrated the impact of road design on speed choice for a limited number of road design features (e.g. curves, road width). Furthermore, existing research only offers limited insights into the psychological mechanisms driving these effects. Therefore, this experimental study, first, aims to the impact of several novel road features on speed choice. Second, it analyses the underlying psychological mechanisms, explaining the effects of road design on speed choice.