ROAD SAFETY PROMOTION STRATEGIES

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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE SURVEY

INTRODUCTION

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

The premise of this study is the area of communication, which, for this thesis, falls under Social Marketing (which entails the domains of promotion and persuasion). The topic for this study looks at evaluation of the South African Road Safety promotion strategies, using the Social Marketing Model. Social Marketing is defined as the use of marketing principles and techniques to influence a target audience to voluntarily accept, reject, modify, or abandon behaviour for the benefit of individuals, groups, or society as a whole. Thebe, (2005).
The Road Safety promotion strategies herein referred to are those vital tools used to communicate effective messages to the many audiences. These audiences are both internal (the Road Safety officers) and external, the consumers of Road Safety messages. These consumers of Road Safety messages are the target audiences of Road Safety in its entirety. The main aim of Social Marketing is to influence target audiences to change behaviour. At the root of every Social Marketing campaign is behaviour change. Many are the theoretical foundations of behaviour change and resistance to change, under modes of communication, the most prominent being persuasion. The subject of our study vests in those Road Safety Promotion messages, which from observation, have not had the desired effect over the years, even after the big campaigns following on the formulation of a National Strategy. The theoretical foundations from the study of Social Marketing became fundamental to the study, and gave direction to the manner in which Social Marketing would be used to evaluate the strategies.
Persuasion theories, cited simply by Perloff, (2003), Koekemoer, (2011), Kotler, Roberto and Lee, (2002), and De Wet, (2010), are said to be very evasive, since the concept itself has so many connotations and implications. At best, persuasion is ethically neutral, and in its practice people are persuaded to voluntarism. Persuasion is defined as a symbolic process where people convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviour towards an issue through the transmission of messages. Suicide cults are an attestation to voluntary convictions emanating from repeated charismatic messages of appeal and promise. Persuasion can be bad or good. The bad aspects can be coercion or sanctions, manipulation, blackmail, brainwashing, indoctrination, and psychological warfare, De Wet, (2010); Perloff, (2003). Persuasion is fundamental to the business of Road Safety Promotion, where messages need to be modified to suit modern rural and urban audiences and those in the informal settlements of South Africa. Lots of charisma and other elements of persuasion communication are needed to change the behaviour of the road users of South Africa. In return, it was expected that all barriers and resistance from the target audiences and consumers of messages of Road Safety be removed.
In this chapter the concept of marketing as a persuasive science, how persuasive communication can be interpreted within the Social Marketing Model, and the nature of Social Marketing, are articulated. The principles, theories, barriers, successes and ethical issues which govern the application of Social Marketing, are also dealt with. Furthermore, the impact of Social Marketing on Road Safety Promotion is described; inferences were drawn on possible aspects where Road Safety strategies could possibly be evaluated in a selected Social Marketing Model.

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL MARKETING

Persuasive communication is used extensively in promotion, both in the advertising field and in Public Relations where goods, services and educational packages within several domains of behaviour and attitude change are marketed in various ways, using various strategies as in the different media campaigns and during political elections.
According to Mondofarcto, (1998), communication is concerned with inducing or urging the adoption of certain beliefs, theories or lines of action by others. Other authorities, De Wet, (2010); Perloff, (2003), contend that persuasion is the act of persuading; the act of influencing the mind by arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a determination of being persuaded or convinced; settled opinion or conviction, which has been induced, if the general persuasion of all men does so account it. A creed or a belief; a sector party adhering to a certain creed or system of opinions; as, of the same persuasion; all persuasions are agreed, be they religious, secular, or political in nature.
Other perspectives on persuasion are that it is the power or quality of persuading; persuasiveness. To influence or gain over by argument, advice, entreaty, expostulation, and so on, to draw or incline to a determination by presenting sufficient motives. “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian (Acts 28)”. « We will persuade him, be it possible”. “Hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you” (:Holy Bible. 2 Kings 32: NIV version). Persuasion may also mean to convince by argument, or by reasons offered or suggested from reflection. Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you. (Heb. Vi. 9).” In the context of the present study, indeed all the elements of persuasion and social marketing can be harnessed to change the behaviour and attitudes of all road users effectively based on the known tried and tested principles of message dissemination and audience persuasion that have lasting appeal or can be re-inforced to continue to have appeal.”

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION THEORY IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Few subjects in social psychology have attracted as much interest and attention as persuasive communication. One of the first topics to be systematically investigated, persuasion, has been the focus of intense research efforts throughout much of social psychology’s brief scientific history. Untold experiments have been conducted to unravel the intricate web of factors that appear to play a role in determining the effectiveness of a persuasive message. The example of charisma and charismatic characters like those cited in history, people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan and others, cited by Perloff, (2003) gives interesting insights into persuasion and persuasive messages, both suicidal or life-inspiring.
Road Safety is an area of study that needs persuasion for the sake of the safety of road users, who, through powerful messages, must be influenced to save their lives, or protect themselves from road accidents.
Recently the media of television and radio, as well as the oral communication that uses direct presentations through comedy and motivational speech has used “celebrities”, public figures with credibility, also called role models. These people have high credibility and can easily persuade masses and are therefore used by advertisers. Road Safety promotion is not different from the rest of the commercial advertising and marketing world which exploits the power of charisma and credibility, Koekemoer, (2011); Perloff, (2003).
However, recent years have seen considerable progress at the theoretical level and a resurgence of empirical work has done much to invigorate the field and provide a better understanding of the fundamental psychological processes underlying persuasion. To appreciate the significance of these developments we must compare the emerging ideas and research findings with those from earlier efforts, Perfoff, (2003).
The present chapter also provides the required historical perspective. Since it aims to review developments in our understanding of the persuasion process, emphasis is placed on ideas and theories rather than on methodological or practical concerns; empirical research findings are summarized only in broad outline when needed to make a point of theoretical significance. The Yale College empirical research under Carl Hovland studied effects of persuasion in 1953, and its impact on theory and research is still respected in scholarly circles even today. It is dubbed ‘The Yale Attitude Change Approach’. Persuasion is also a mode of promotion communication that features very prominently in this discourse and will become the subset of the inquiry at a certain stage of the study. Road Safety lends itself to communication, both internally among the strategic planners, and also externally within and between the target audience (road users) for which its promotional messages are designed. Any research study takes cue from historical perspectives of the topic under discussion.

THE NATURE OF PERSUASION

Persuasive communication involves the use of verbal and non-verbal messages to influence attitudes and behaviour. Although the context of persuasion must necessarily be considered, the most relevant and impactive message, designed to sway the hearts and minds of the recipients, is at the core of persuasive communication.

STRUCTURE OF A MESSAGE

As a general rule, a message consists of three parts: an advocated position, a set of general arguments in support of the advocated position, and specific factual evidence designed to bolster the general arguments, Fishbein & Ajzen, (1981). The advocated position may be a stand on a particular issue (for example, support for a tax increase) or a recommended action, for example, donating blood).
The general arguments will typically supply reasons for adopting the advocated position, and justification for the arguments is provided in the form of factual evidence. Consider the question of instituting a senior comprehensive examination for undergraduate college students. This type of message is also addressed by De Wet, (2010), who refers to seduction, which aims at subduing the message recipient to a position of surrender. It is essential that this study evaluates the status of advocacy messages used in Road Safety promotion in the not-so-distant past of the strategies used, (2006 onwards), including the “surrender level” of the audience of the many recipients the message were targeting.
Belk, (2006) cites that Petty and Cacioppoico, (1986), published some examples of general arguments and supportive evidence used in their research programme. Among the major arguments contained in Petty and Cacioppo’s messages were the claims that instituting a comprehensive examination raises students’ grade point averages and leads to improvement in the quality of undergraduate teaching. The factual evidence in support of the first argument was formulated as follows: “The National Scholarship Achievement Board recently revealed the results of a five-year study conducted on the effectiveness of comprehensive examinations at Duke University. The results of the study showed that since the comprehensive examination has been introduced at Duke, the grade point average of undergraduates has increased by 31%. At comparable schools without the examinations, grades increased by only 8% over the same period. The prospect of a comprehensive examination clearly seems to be effective in challenging students to work harder and faculty to teach more effectively. It is likely that the benefits observed at Duke University could also be observed at other universities that adopt the examination policy. If accepted as valid, the factual evidence should result in acceptance of the argument that, instituting a senior comprehensive examination will raise grade point averages, and acceptance of the argument in turn should increase the likelihood that recipients will endorse the position in favour of instituting a comprehensive examination, as advocated in the message. There is, of course, no assurance that recipients of a message will in fact accept the arguments and evidence it contains. On the contrary, identifying the factors and conditions that produce acceptance of information contained in a message is the major purpose of persuasion theory and research. Does Road Safety Promotion also lend itself to the same processes as mentioned above?
This study specifically sought to place Road Safety Promotion evaluation under perspective, in a manner that all parameters that have gone into Road Safety messaging are found to be effective within the road user target audiences of South Africa. Furthermore, in order to develop a better understanding of the nature of persuasion, it is instructive to contrast persuasion with a few alternative influence strategies. The review offered here is far from exhaustive but it will help highlight some critical aspects of persuasive communication.

COERCIVE PERSUASION

People can be induced to behave in a prescribed way by offering a sizable reward for compliance or by being threatened with severe punishment for non-compliance; De Wet, (2010), refers to “sanction” in this regard. This strategy of change can be very effective in producing the desired behaviour, but its effectiveness is contingent on supervision as is the case on the road, where traffic officers monitor behaviour of drivers to a large extent, and pedestrians to a lesser extent. Enduring attitude change by means of coercion is more likely in the context of total institutions, such as prisons, mental hospitals, or prisoner-of-war camps. Situations of this kind enable control over many aspects of an individual’s life for an extended period of time. Even here, however, enduring attitude change is difficult to obtain and often fades after release from the institution. Road Safety often uses sanction even as the last resort, for “stubborn” message recipients, and those who deliberately disregard the promotional messages on board. However, sanction or coercion needs to be handled strategically rather than in a linear fashion, where the recipient of the message finally resists the persuasion message.

THE PERSUASION CONTEXT

Persuasion, according to Hugh Rank, quoted in De Wet, (2010), offers a model that could help teach people also to be critical recipients of persuasion. This model is most useful for analysing and describing certain strategies and tactics used by mass persuaders. Rank’s model, called the intensify/downplay scheme, asserts that persuaders often intensify certain features of their products, services, ideology or candidate or they downplay certain aspects.
Often they do both; “Speed kills” is one such message, which intensifies the negative message of persuasion. “Arrive Alive” is a message that highlights the significance of life, but may downplay the gruesomeness of death. It may be a soft message for some audiences. The study evaluated this aspect through indirect means.
No message appears in a vacuum. At a minimum, we can usually identify the source of a message: an editor of a newspaper editorial, a lawyer pleading a client’s case before a jury, or a movie star asking for donations to a charity. The communicator’s identity, however, is only one of the many factors that constitute the context of persuasive communication.

Acknowledgements 
Abstract 
CHAPTER 1 ORIENTATION AND INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Problem statement
1.2 Assumptions of the study
1.3 Aims of the study
1.3.1 Justify the necessity
1.3.2 Determine the impact
1.3.3 Ascertain the extent
1.3.4 Determine the extent
1.3.5 Recommend Research areas
1.4 Key research questions
1.4.1 What is the impact of Road Safety Promotion strategies
1.4.2 Why and how can road safety promotion strategies be evaluated?
1.4.3 Are Road Safety managers (officers/ practitioners) adequately trained
1.4.4 Has there been general public engagement
1.5 Background to the study
1.6 Objectives of the study
1.7 Purpose of the study
1.8 A literature review
1.9 Research Methodology
1.9.1 Sample
1.9.2 Focus group interviews
1.10 Delimitations of the study
1.10.1 Justification of the study
1.10.2 Definition of terms
1.10.2.1 Social Marketing (Donegan’s discourse on Social Marketing)
1.10.2.2 Promotion: The term is one of the five p’s of Social Marketing
1.10.2.3 Evaluation
1.11 Assessment Exercise by focus group
1.12 Thesis outline
Chapter 1: Orientation and Introduction
Chapter 2: Persuasive Communication and Social Marketing
Chapter 3: Theoretical Background
Chapter 4: Road Safety Promotion Strategies
Chapter 5: Nature of Road Safety Promotion
Chapter 6: Research Methodology
Chapter 7: Findings: Interpretation and Discussion of Findings
Chapter 8: Conclusions and Recommendations
CHAPTER 2
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Theoretical Foundations
2.1.2 Persuasive Communication In Social Marketing
2.1.3 Persuasive Communication Theory in Social Psychology
2.1.4 The Nature of Persuasion
2.1.5 Structure of a Message
2.1.6 Coercive Persuasion
2.1.7 The persuasion context
2.1.8 Source factors
2.1.9 Recipient factors
2.1.10 Media factors
2.1.11 Message factors
2.1.12 Situational factors
2.2 Persuasion
2.2.1 Persuasion by Peripheral Route
2.2.2 Persuasion by the Central Route
2.2.3 Reasoning and Persuasion
2.2.4 Yielding and Impact
2.2.5 Persuasive Argumentation
2.2.6 Changing Behaviour
2.2.7 Changing Intentions
2.2.8 Changing Attitudes
2.2.9 Changing Beliefs
2.3 Chapter Summary
CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO SOCIAL MARKETING
3.1 Orientation
3.2 Definition of social marketing
3.3 The history and nature of Social Campaigns
3.4 Characteristics of Social Marketing
3.5 The Social Marketing process
3.6 Marketing to promote Road Safety
3.7 Overcoming objections to Social Marketing
3.8 Social Marketing does not replace
3.9 Application areas
3.10 Challenges to Social Marketing
3.11 The Problem is Behaviour, not Marketing
3.12 Culture and Social Marketing
3.13 The Role of Communication and Social Marketing in Road Safety Behaviour
3.14 Problems encountered when dealing with messages about Road Safety Behaviour
3.15 Road Safety Communication media choices
3.16 General Communication Recommendations for the possible improvement of future Road Safety Programmes
3.17 Barriers to effective Social Marketing
3.18 Conclusion
CHAPTER 4 ROAD SAFETY PROMOTION STRATEGIES
4.1 Introduction
4.2. Is Road Safety a problem?
4.3. Road Design and Road Furniture
4.4 Routine Road Maintenance
4.5 Road traffic control, driver training and regulation of motorists
4.6 Road Safety Audits
4.7 North West Province specific Road Safety promotion Strategies
4.8. Promoting Road Safety promotion in South Africa: Selecting a Model
4.9 The need for a Social Marketing Model for Road Safety promotion in South Africa
4.10. Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 NATURE OF ROAD SAFETY PROMOTION
5.1 Introduction
5.2. Nature of Road Safety
5.3 Road Safety promotion in South Africa
5.4 Approaches to Road Safety promotion in the North West province
5.5 Other impacts
5.6. People’s right to Safety
5.7. Chapter Summary
CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Methodology, Research methods
6.3 Sampling
6.4 Methods and Instruments
6.5 Construction and Description of the Interview Schedule
6.6 Interview Procedures
6.7 Decoding of the data
6.8 Population and sample
6.9 Validity and Reliability of Data
6.10 Data Analysis and Interpretation
6.11 Chapter Summary
CHAPTER SEVEN FINDINGS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
7.1 Introduction *
7.2 Procedures for the Focus Group Interviews conducted in the three provinces
7.3 Presentation of the Responses of the Focus Group Interviews
7.4 Summary of the Findings from the Focus Group Interviews
7.5 Chapter Summary
CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Assessing the Research Questions
8.3 Results of the Research: Findings and Conclusions
8.4. Recommendations
8.5. Recommendations for Further Study
8.6 Summary and Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
APPENDICES
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