From messages to movements: how emotional reactions to message frames activate consumption goals to shape students' public transport usage intention
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2026
Subject Area
place - asia, place - urban, policy - sustainable, planning - marketing/promotion, planning - surveys, ridership - commuting, ridership - behaviour
Keywords
School commute, Public transport, Message framing, Emotion-activated consumption goals, Sustainable transport behavior, Public service transformation
Abstract
Promoting public transport use among students is crucial for fostering sustainable urban mobility, yet public transport remains underutilized in many cities. This research investigates how message framing influences students' intentions to use public transport through the activation of consumption goals by emotional reactions. Furthermore, by focusing on Hanoi – a Global South megacity undergoing a public transport transformation - it enriches the current literature, which predominantly centers on developed countries. A survey of 611 students explored general school commuting behaviors, followed by a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with 245 participants to examine the independent and combined effects of gain/loss and individual/social frames on public transport usage intention. Results showed that gain frames were slightly better than loss frames, and social references outperformed individual remarks. The effects were congruent, making gain-framed, social-referencing messages the most effective in enhancing students' intention. Additionally, emotional reactions to these frames activated consumption goals, increasing students' behavioral intention. The activation was contextual, as social frames led to higher baseline levels of consumption goals yet less reliance on affective responses. These findings highlight the importance of public communication strategies that emphasize collective benefits and evoke emotional engagement to promote sustainable commuting choices.
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Do, H. P. N., Nguyen, M. P., & Pham, C. A. T. (2026). From messages to movements: how emotional reactions to message frames activate consumption goals to shape students' public transport usage intention. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 118, 103521.
Comments
Transportation Research Part F Home Page:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478