The Use of Legal Enforcement as a Normative Element to Prevent Texting While Driving

• In Event: Potential Health Concerns Associated With Media Engagement

Abstract

Despite the implementation of banning texting while driving (TWD) in more than 40 states in the United States, this policy has not appeared to be successful. The lack of proper publicity about the implementation may explain this deficit. The current research extends previous investigations regarding the impact of perceived norms on engagement in TWD by adding a legal norm as the highest form of social norm. An online experiment with a 3 (state: Wisconsin vs. Florida vs. South Carolina) X 3 [message: peer norm (PN) vs. legal enforcement (LEF) vs. behavioral control (BC)] X 2 (time: pre vs. post) mixed factorial design (N = 205) found that the message with a focus of LEF changed perceived legal consequences, which was pronounced for SC. Furthermore, the LEF message was more effective than the PN message in reducing positive attitudes toward TWD and behavioral intention, but not for WI and FL.

Authors

• Hyang-Sook Kim, Towson University

• Weirui Wang, Florida International University

• Nicole Geiser, St. Norbert College