To Communicate or Not to Communicate: Factors Predicting Passengers’ Intentions to Ask a Driver to Stop Text Messaging While Driving

• In Event: Interpersonal Provider, Patient, and Partner Talk About Health

Abstract

Interpersonal communication is important in health campaigns. The present research examined factors that are associated with passengers’ intentions to communicate no texting with a texting driver in a scenario where the driver is their friend. Based on survey data collected from 546 college students, results showed that students’ attitudes toward communication about no texting while driving was predicted by their utilitarian (i.e., safety), value-expressive, and ego-defensive motivations, in addition to being predicted by self-efficacy and norms. Additional results revealed that empathic concern was correlated with the value-expressive motivation and anticipated guilt. Anticipated guilt, together with attitudes, norms, and efficacy, predicted communication intentions. Results revealed that including attitude functions (motivations) in the reasoned action model could help propose and test theory-based predictions in interpersonal communication and health behaviors.

Author

• Xiao Wang, Rochester Institute of Technology