Study concludes fear is best motivator to stop texting while driving

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A duo of WSU marketing professors has concluded the best way to discourage people from texting and driving is to scare them.

Ioannis Kareklas and Darrel Muehling, professors in the Department of Marketing & International Business, recently completed research on how different kinds of public service announcements influence drivers’ tendency to text while driving.

Kareklas and Muehling found the best way to discourage the practice was to remind drivers of their mortality through a combination of symbolic imagery and verbal warnings.

Kareklas and Muehling showed study participants an image of a skull and crossbones superimposed over a photo of someone texting while driving. They found using this emotional, fear-based appeal was the most effective at changing people’s attitudes and intentions.

Although the change in attitude wasn’t massive, the effect was surprising due to the limited amount of time participants were shown the image, Muehling said.

“This is one exposure, too,” Muehling said. “This isn’t something they saw repeatedly.”

The researchers said the skull and crossbones imagery is necessary because information alone doesn’t convince young people to change.

“The younger generation, we tend to think we are invincible,” Kareklas said. “Even people in our study acknowledged the dangerous of texting and driving – they were just rationalizing them away. They basically said they are skillful enough at texting and driving that they can do it safely.”

The research was carried out in response to the high rate of accidents caused by distracted driving in the U.S.

“We report in the paper statistics from the National Safety Council that show about 1.6 million crashes each year come from drivers who are distracted because they are using their cell phone,” Kareklas said. “At least 200,000 of those are coming from people who are texting and driving.”  

Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins said texting and driving laws are difficult to enforce because police officers struggle to ascertain whether an individual is texting or looking down for another reason.

Kareklas cited a study that suggests texting and driving bans not only fail to stop the behavior but also make it more dangerous.

“They lower their phones so they are out of view, and the police cannot see what they are doing, thereby exacerbating the danger because now, instead of looking straight, they look down to text and drive,” Kareklas said.

The results of the study are still preliminary but could lead to more in-depth research in the future.

“I don’t think our study has the ultimate solution,” Kareklas said. “It’s just a piece of the puzzle, and it’s a good piece to build on.”