Abstract

MOYANO DIAZ, Emilio. Theory of planned behavior and pedestrians' intention to violate transit rules. Estud. psicol. (Natal) [online]. 1997, vol.2, n.2, pp. 335-348. ISSN 1413-294X.

Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the paper analyzes traffic rules violating behavior in pedestrians, testing a self-report scale that deals with frequency of transit norms violations, error committing and having lapses when using the streets. 146 inhabitants of the city of Santiago were intentionally selected, making up a balanced sample in terms of a) genre, b) having or not driving license, c) age (young, 17-25 years, or adult, 26 years or more), and d) with experience of transit accident or not, who voluntarily and anonymously completed a "Questionnaire of opinion about pedestrian behavior" and a "Scale of Pedestrian Behavior". The attitude towards behavior, the subjective norm and the perceived control explain about 40% of the variance of intention to transgress. Pedestrian behavior is also significantly different for young vs. adults for the three variables of the model, demonstrating that the first are more prone to violating behavior, perceive the subjective norm as less inhibiting of transgression, and exhibit less control over violating behavior with behavioral intention of higher probability to make it happen. The results of the Scale of Pedestrian Behavior indicate that young pedestrians perpetrate more transgressions, errors and lapses when in transit than adults.

Keywords : planned behavior; pedestrians; transgression; transit.