Positive emotional arousal has no effect on speeding intention

Emotional arousal has no effect on speeding intention Chloe Jones, Catherine Ferguson, Ken Robinson Edith Cowan University Abstract Background: The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has been used successfully in the investigation of driver behaviour. However the theory has been criticised for not accounting for emotion and this deficiency may be responsible for unaccounted for variance in behavioural intention. Prior research has suggested that speeding behaviour has an emotional component. Aim: The aim of this research was to extend the TPB by incorporating a measure of emotional arousal which was based on an intention to exceed the speed limit by more than 20 Km/ph. Sample: A convenience sample of 176 drivers (43% male; 57% female) aged between 18 and 61 years (53% aged less than 25 years; 47% over 26 years) was recruited. Method: An online questionnaire was developed based on the TPB and included measures of arousal based on Bradley and Lang (1999), and a measure of past speeding behaviour. Questionnaires were completed anonymously with respondents being directed through social networking sites to the questionnaire web link. Results: The traditional TPB model accounted for 53.2% of variance in speeding intention, with past behaviour increasing this by 6.5%, and arousal accounting for an additional 0.01%. Past behaviour, attitude, and perceived behavioural control were the most influential predictors of intention. Conclusion: There appear to be considerable challenges in finding an appropriate measurement of emotion for inclusion in TPB research for speeding intention. However the TPB variables (including past behaviour) accounted for a good proportion of the variance in intention.