Getting to the bottom of everyday actions

11/04/2025

Example image for sustainable mobility (cyclist on a cycle path)

In surveys, many people advocate environmental protection, but in everyday life they continue to use environmentally harmful means of transportation such as private cars in large numbers. Mobility behavior is often shaped by familiar patterns and it is difficult to switch to alternatives. This gap between attitudes and behavior - also known as the "attitude-behavior gap" - is the focus of Prof. Johannes Weyer's research. Together with his team, he recently presented a model in the scientific journal "PLOS One" that depicts people's everyday behavior. It can be used, for example, to understand and predict what incentives are needed to bring about a lasting change in mobility behavior.

Prof. Johannes Weyer, Senior Professor of Sustainable Mobility at the Department of Social Sciences, and Sebastian Hoffmann, research assistant at the Social Research Center (sfs), have developed the model called xMooBe, which has its roots in sociological action theory. The abbreviation stands for "Extended Model of Mobility Behavior". xMooBe depicts people's everyday mobility behavior and explains how specific decisions - such as the choice of means of transport - are made. It is based on a large-scale survey of over 10,000 employees and students at the University Alliance Ruhr, in which individual preferences ("What is more important to me, comfort or the environment?") and subjectively perceived probabilities ("What is the best way to reach my destinations, by car or by bike?") were recorded. Contextual factors such as car ownership, the availability of cycle paths or whether children live in the household were also taken into account.

Predicting mobility behavior

"The model can map everyday decisions with a high degree of accuracy - far more precisely than was possible with previously used concepts," says Prof. Johannes Weyer. xMooBe is also suitable for predicting changes in behavior: In thought experiments, contextual factors can be specifically changed, for example the quality of local public transport or the condition of the cycle path network. "This makes it possible to predict how people might react to incentives aimed at changing their mobility behavior in the direction of sustainability," explains Sebastian Hoffmann. "It is particularly interesting to find out how different types of mobility - comfort-oriented or environmentally conscious - react to corresponding incentives. This knowledge can help to develop tailor-made offers that specifically appeal to different groups."

Prof. Johannes Weyer and his team are currently working on a follow-up study in which the model will also be confirmed with the help of survey data from a broader population. Various incentive mechanisms designed to promote sustainable mobility in the Rhine-Ruhr region are already being researched and developed in the "ATMo2" research project at the Social Research Center.

More information on the publication.

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