Understanding walking behaviour from an African context through the lenses of the theory of Planned behaviour

IF 3.5 2区工程技术 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED

Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Pub Date : 2025-05-03 DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2025.04.027

Vivian Agyei, Gifty Adom-Asamoah, Michael Ayertey Nanor, Michael Poku-Boansi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

While walking behaviour has been extensively studied in the Global North, there remains a significant gap in understanding walking in the Global South, particularly in Africa. Existing research predominantly emphasises the influence of the built environment, often overlooking critical individual and social factors. This study examines the psychological constructs in walking for transportation in Kumasi, Ghana, through the lenses of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).

A structural model of the data collected from 693 participants revealed that intention is strongly associated with walking behaviour, with perceived behavioural control emerging as the primary factor related to intention. Contrary to many studies, attitude did not significantly predict walking intentions, suggesting that local contextual factors such as traffic safety concerns and sidewalk obstructions may diminish the role of affective and cognitive evaluations in walking decisions. Subjective norm also showed no direct association with intention, although it correlated with other TPB constructs.

These findings highlight the relevance of TPB in capturing psychological determinants of walking behaviour in an African urban setting. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to employ the Theory of Planned Behaviour to explain walking behaviour in an African context, providing a reference for future research and urban transport planning in Ghana and similar settings.

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通过计划行为理论的镜头从非洲背景下理解行走行为

虽然在全球北方已经对行走行为进行了广泛的研究，但在了解全球南方，特别是非洲的行走行为方面仍存在重大差距。现有的研究主要强调建筑环境的影响，往往忽视了关键的个人和社会因素。本研究通过计划行为理论（TPB）的视角，考察了在加纳库马西（Kumasi）进行交通步行的心理构造。从693名参与者收集的数据结构模型显示，意图与步行行为密切相关，感知行为控制成为与意图相关的主要因素。与许多研究相反，态度并不能显著预测步行意图，这表明当地的环境因素，如交通安全问题和人行道障碍物，可能会削弱情感和认知评估在步行决策中的作用。主观规范与意向也没有直接联系，尽管它与其他TPB构念相关。这些发现强调了TPB在捕捉非洲城市环境中步行行为的心理决定因素方面的相关性。据我们所知，这项研究是第一次使用计划行为理论来解释非洲环境下的步行行为，为加纳和类似环境下的未来研究和城市交通规划提供参考。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Multiple-

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

14.60%

发文量

239

审稿时长

71 days

期刊介绍： Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour focuses on the behavioural and psychological aspects of traffic and transport. The aim of the journal is to enhance theory development, improve the quality of empirical studies and to stimulate the application of research findings in practice. TRF provides a focus and a means of communication for the considerable amount of research activities that are now being carried out in this field. The journal provides a forum for transportation researchers, psychologists, ergonomists, engineers and policy-makers with an interest in traffic and transport psychology.