Publication Detail
Attitude, Personality, and Lifestyle Characteristics as Related to Travel
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UCD-ITS-RR-00-15 Research Report |
Suggested Citation:
Redmond, Lothlorien S. (2000) Attitude, Personality, and Lifestyle Characteristics as Related to Travel. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-00-15
Understanding and accurately predicting travel behavior can help us develop appropriate and ultimately successful policies and technologies for the future. Unfortunately, predicting human behavior has consistently proven to be difficult. This thesis adds to the extensive research on travel attitudes and their connections to travel behavior, through the empirical measurement of new variables and new relationships. Specifically, we have used data from just over 1900 mail-out, mail-back surveys in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1998. This survey yielded an extensive data set of which this research is only a part.
Travel attitudes and their connection to behavior have been studied in many ways, but generally the emphasis has been on the behavior (which is of greater interest to planners and more applicable for policymakers). Focusing on Attitudes and Lifestyle and Personality factors puts the emphasis on the travel attitudes themselves to explore how the attitudes are affecting travel in general. The primary purpose of this thesis is to explore the travel attributes associated with people having different attitude, personality and lifestyle characteristics. In order to define sets of characteristics to compare, we first factor analyzed each of the attitude, personality and lifestyle sections of the survey. Then we used cluster analysis of these factors to define groups of respondents with similar characteristics (similar scores on the factors).
The organization of this thesis is as follows. The following chapter discusses some key literature concerning attitudes and travel behavior. This brief literature review cannot mention all the influential travel attitude and behavior research, however, we have attempted to offer examples of the literature that discusses the connection between attitudes and behavior, the role of intentions in making this connection, the confounding influences of habitual behavior and the role of social pressures in travel decision making.
The third chapter discusses the survey design and sample methodology. This chapter contains details about the survey and the three sampled neighborhoods. It also illustrates the representativeness of the sample in terms of key demographic variables. Chapter 3 concludes with a description of the survey sections and variables relevant to the cluster analysis.
The final results of this research are two cluster analyses based on factor analyses of the Attitude, Personality and Lifestyle sections of the survey. Generally, factor analysis is used to distill a set of variables into a smaller set of underlying ideas. In this research, six factors were extracted from the 32 Attitudinal variables, and the 17 Personality variables and 18 Lifestyle variables were distilled into four factors each. Chapter 4 discusses the Factor Analysis in greater detail. Chapter 4 begins with an overview of factor analysis in general and the considerations specific to deciding on a final factor solution. This is followed by a discussion of the unique aspects of the three factor analyses in detail. Finally, we explain the chosen factor solutions.
Chapter 5 discusses the cluster analysis methodology. The considerations and judgments made in the cluster analyses are similar for both the Attitude clusters and the Personality and Lifestyle clusters and therefore, cluster analysis in general and the issues relevant to both the final cluster solutions are discussed together in Chapter 5.
The final cluster solutions include six Attitudinal clusters and eleven Personality and Lifestyle clusters. Clusters 6 and 7 discuss the Attitude and Personality and Lifestyle cluster solutions respectively. First, specific characteristics of the cluster solutions are discussed in each chapter and then the clusters are described in detail. Clusters are described in terms of their relative size and their cluster centroid. The centroid is the mean value for the cluster on the variables (factor scores) used to define that cluster. Finally, the clusters are described in terms of their means and distributions for other variables of interest.
It is necessary to look at the differences between the clusters to understand what makes them unique, what defines them as a distinct cluster. However, for many of the variables, the clusters have similarly positive or negative responses and the difference is only in degree. Chapter 8 discusses some of these overall trends and considers possible connections between the clusters. Finally, Chapter 9 concludes and offers specific suggestions for further research.
Travel attitudes and their connection to behavior have been studied in many ways, but generally the emphasis has been on the behavior (which is of greater interest to planners and more applicable for policymakers). Focusing on Attitudes and Lifestyle and Personality factors puts the emphasis on the travel attitudes themselves to explore how the attitudes are affecting travel in general. The primary purpose of this thesis is to explore the travel attributes associated with people having different attitude, personality and lifestyle characteristics. In order to define sets of characteristics to compare, we first factor analyzed each of the attitude, personality and lifestyle sections of the survey. Then we used cluster analysis of these factors to define groups of respondents with similar characteristics (similar scores on the factors).
The organization of this thesis is as follows. The following chapter discusses some key literature concerning attitudes and travel behavior. This brief literature review cannot mention all the influential travel attitude and behavior research, however, we have attempted to offer examples of the literature that discusses the connection between attitudes and behavior, the role of intentions in making this connection, the confounding influences of habitual behavior and the role of social pressures in travel decision making.
The third chapter discusses the survey design and sample methodology. This chapter contains details about the survey and the three sampled neighborhoods. It also illustrates the representativeness of the sample in terms of key demographic variables. Chapter 3 concludes with a description of the survey sections and variables relevant to the cluster analysis.
The final results of this research are two cluster analyses based on factor analyses of the Attitude, Personality and Lifestyle sections of the survey. Generally, factor analysis is used to distill a set of variables into a smaller set of underlying ideas. In this research, six factors were extracted from the 32 Attitudinal variables, and the 17 Personality variables and 18 Lifestyle variables were distilled into four factors each. Chapter 4 discusses the Factor Analysis in greater detail. Chapter 4 begins with an overview of factor analysis in general and the considerations specific to deciding on a final factor solution. This is followed by a discussion of the unique aspects of the three factor analyses in detail. Finally, we explain the chosen factor solutions.
Chapter 5 discusses the cluster analysis methodology. The considerations and judgments made in the cluster analyses are similar for both the Attitude clusters and the Personality and Lifestyle clusters and therefore, cluster analysis in general and the issues relevant to both the final cluster solutions are discussed together in Chapter 5.
The final cluster solutions include six Attitudinal clusters and eleven Personality and Lifestyle clusters. Clusters 6 and 7 discuss the Attitude and Personality and Lifestyle cluster solutions respectively. First, specific characteristics of the cluster solutions are discussed in each chapter and then the clusters are described in detail. Clusters are described in terms of their relative size and their cluster centroid. The centroid is the mean value for the cluster on the variables (factor scores) used to define that cluster. Finally, the clusters are described in terms of their means and distributions for other variables of interest.
It is necessary to look at the differences between the clusters to understand what makes them unique, what defines them as a distinct cluster. However, for many of the variables, the clusters have similarly positive or negative responses and the difference is only in degree. Chapter 8 discusses some of these overall trends and considers possible connections between the clusters. Finally, Chapter 9 concludes and offers specific suggestions for further research.
Master's Thesis