Cooperation in motorized urban mobility in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico’s Valley

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22544/rcps.v45i01.03

Keywords:

urban mobility, cooperation, sustainability, transportation, environmental psychology

Abstract

Private car use is associated with diverse negative externalities such as air pollution and traffic congestion; however automobiles meet private mobilite needs in megacities, as well is driven by symbolic and affective motives; unlike as more environmental friendly alternatives as public transport use; which is generally negatively evaluated in latin american countries. The objective of this study is to identify psychological and situational predictors that favor cooperation in face of the social dilemma of urban mobility. Five stated preference vignettes were presented to a sample of 248 participants residents in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico’s Valley. Their responses were analyzed through nominal response model of Item’s Response Theory. Results reveal that different response options consisting of private care and public transportation conformed ordinal categories in the expected direction. Using a stepwise linear regression model, significant predictors of cooperation were integrated and introjected personal norms, along with restricted parking at the destination. These results are discussed in terms of the implications for car use reduction directed interventions andmeasuring personal urban mobility motorized behaviors.

Author Biographies

Carlos Adrián Cruz Jurado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

PhD in Psychology. Social and Environmental Field. Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Higher Studies Zaragoza, National Autonomous University of Mexico. Research areas: Psychology of sustainability and pro-environmental behaviors.

José Marcos Bustos Aguayo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

PhD in Psychology. Field of Social and Environmental Psychology. National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Full-time Professor at the Faculty of Higher Studies Zaragoza, UNAM. Research areas: Development of sustainable environmental behavior, socio-physical conditions for remote work, healthy and sustainable nutrition in university students, psychosocial development and the school environment.

Luz María Flores Herrera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

PhD in Psychology. Field of Knowledge: Social and Environmental Psychology. Faculty of Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Workplace: Faculty of Higher Studies Zaragoza, UNAM. Full-time Professor. Main lines of research: Observational methodology in behavioral sciences, measurement of socio-emotional skills in development, socio-physical environment and sustainability, construction of psychometric instruments in education, measurement and evaluation in health.

Patricia Andrade Palos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

PhD in Psychology. Full Professor C, Full Time. Faculty of Psychology. National Autonomous University of Mexico. Research Areas: Positive psychology, socialization and family, well-being in older adults, risk behaviors in adolescents.

Elizabeth López Carranza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

PhD in Psychology. Professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Faculty of Psychology. Research areas: Pro-environmental behavior, Sustainable environments and residential environments.

José Martínez Guerrero, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México.

Doctor of Philosophy in Research, Diagnosis, and Evaluation of Educational Interventions. Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Works at Faculty of Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico. Main lines of research: Validation of measurement models in behavioral sciences; Measurement and  evaluation in education, health, and social sciences; Psychometric research of assessment instruments; Measurement of self-regulation processes and socio-emotional skills; Validation and adaptation of psychological and organizational assessment instruments.

References

Auxhausen, K. (2007). Concepts of travel behavior research. En T. Gärling, & L. Steg (editors), Threats from car traffic to the quality of urban life: problems, causes and solutions (pp. 165-185). Elsevier.

Aitken, N., Pelletier, L., & Baxter, D. (2016). Doing the difficult stuff: Influence of self-determined motivation toward the environment on transportation proenvironmental behavior. Ecopsychology, 8(2), 153-162. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2015.0079

Argyle, M. (1991). Cooperation: The basis of sociability. Routledge, Chapman and Hall.

Bergquist, M., Nilsson, A., & Hansla, A. (2017). Contests versus norms: Implications of contest-based and normbased intervention techniques. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02046

Bock, R. D. (1972). Estimating item parameters and latent ability when responses are scored in two or more nominal categories. Psychometrika, 37(1), 29-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02291411

Bock, R. (1997). The nominal categories model. In Handbook of modern item response theory (pp. 33-49). Springer.

Bock, R. D., & Aitkin, M. (1981). Marginal maximum likelihood estimation of item parameters: Application of an EM algorithm. Psychometrika, 46(4), 443-459.

Bösehans, G., & Walker, I. (2020). Do supra-modal traveler types exist? A travel behavior market segmentation using goal framing theory. Transportation, 47(1), 243-273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9874-7

Carse, A., Goodman, A., Mackett, R. L., Panter, J., & Ogilvie, D. (2013). The factors influencing car use in a cyclefriendly city: the case of Cambridge. Journal of Transport Geography, 28, 67-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.10.013

Clayton, S. (2012). Environmental identity. En S. Clayton (editor), The Oxford handbook of environmental and conservation psychology (164-180). Oxford University Press.

Clayton, S., & Myers, G. (2009). Conservation psychology: Understanding and promoting human care for nature. John Wiley & Sons.

Consejo Nacional de Población. (2020). Metrópolis de México 2020(1ª ed.). SEDATU, CONAPO e INEGI. https://www.gob.mx/sedatu

Corral, V., & Domínguez, R. L. (2011). El rol de los eventos antecedentes y consecuentes en la conducta sustentable. Revista Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta, 37(2), 9-29. https://doi.org/10.5514/rmac.v37.i2.26137

Cruz, C. A., Bustos, J. M., Andrade, P., Flores, L. M., & López, E. (2023). Scale to measure motives for car use and personal norms for reducing car use in the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico (Escalas de motivos para uso del auto y de norma personal de reducción del uso de auto en la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México). PsyEcology, 14(2), 159-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/21711976.2023.2170826

Díaz-Acosta, R., Shiba-Matsumoto, A. R., & Gutiérrez, J. P. (2015). Medición simplificada del nivel socioeconómico en encuestas breves: propuesta a partir de acceso a bienes y servicios. Salud Pública de México, 57(4), 298-303. http://repositorio.insp.mx:8080/jspui/handle/20.500.12096/6971

do Canto, N. R., Grunert, K. G., & Dutra de Barcellos, M. (2023). Goal-framing theory in environmental behaviors: review, future research agenda and possible applications in behavioral change. Journal of Social Marketing, 13(1), 20-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-03-2021-0058

Förster, J., Liberman, N., & Friedman, R. S. (2023). What do we prime? On distinguishing between semantic priming, procedural priming, and goal priming. In Oxford Handbook of Human Action (pp. 173-193). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195309980.003.0009

Gatersleben, B. (2007). Affective and symbolic aspects of car use. En T. Gärling, & L. Steg (editors), Threats from car traffic to the quality of life (pp. 219-233). Elsevier.

Geng, J., Long, R., & Chen, H. (2016). Impact of information intervention on travel mode choice of urban residents with different goal frames: A controlled trial in Xuzhou, China. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 91, 134-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.06.031

Hambleton, R. K., Swaminathan, H., & Rogers, H. J. (1991). Fundamentals of item response theory (Vol. 2). Sage.

Hoang-Tung, N., Kojima, A., & Kubota, H. (2017). Transformation from intentions to habits in travel behavior: An awareness of a mediated form of intention. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 49, 226-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.07.001

Hunecke, M., Blöbaum, A., Matthies, E., & Höger, R. (2001). Responsibility and environment: Ecological norm orientation and external factors in the domain of travel mode choice behavior. Environment and Behavior, 33(6), 830-852. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139160121973269

Jakobsson, C. (2007). Instrumental motives for private car use. En T. Gärling & L. Steg. (editors), Threats from car traffic to the quality of life (pp. 205-217). Elsevier.

Keizer, K., & Schultz, P. (2013). Social norms and pro-environmental behavior. En L. Steg, & J. de Groot, Environmental Psychology. An Introduction (2nd Edition) (pp. 153-164). BPS Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119241072.ch18

Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 239-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504620220145401

Kollock, P. (1998). Social dilemmas: The anatomy of cooperation. Annual Review of Sociology. 24, 183-214. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.183

Lindenberg, S. (2008). Social rationality, semi-modularity, and goal-framing: What is it all about? Analyse & Kritik, 30(2), 669-687. https://doi.org/10.1515/auk-2008-0217

Lindenberg, S., & Steg, L. (2014). Goal-framing theory and norm-guided environmental behavior. En: van Trijp, H. (editor). Encouragning sustainable behavior, psychology and the environment (pp. 37-54). Psychology Press.

Lloret-Segura, S., Ferreres-Traver, A., Hernández-Baeza, A., & Tomás-Marco, I. (2014). El análisis factorial exploratorio de los ítems: una guía práctica, revisada y actualizada. Anales de Psicología/Annals of Psychology, 30(3), 1151-1169. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.3.199361

Martínez-Guerrero, J. (2008). Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem. En H. Elorza, Estadística para las ciencias sociales, del comportamiento y de la salud (603-627). CENGAGE.

Mehdizadeh, M., Zavareh, M. F., & Nordfjaern, T. (2019). Mono- and multimodal green transport use on university trips during winter and summer: Hybrid choice models on the norm-activation theory. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 130, 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.046

Miles, J., & Shevlin, M. (2014). Applying regression & correlation. A guide for students and researchers. Sage Publications.

Moreno, M., Ruiz, J., & Corraliza, J. (2007). Dilemas sociales y transporte urbano. Revista de Psicología Social, 22(3), 255-266. https://doi.org/10.1174/021347407782194380

Osbaldiston, R., & Sheldon, K. (2001). Social dilemas and sustainability: promoting people’s motivation to “cooperate with the future”. En P. Schmuck, & P. W. Schultz. Psychology of sustainable development (pp. 37-57). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Savin, N. E., & White, K. J. (1977). The Durbin-Watson test for serial correlation with extreme sample sizes or many regressors. Econometrica, 45(8), 1989-1996. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914122

Stradling, S. (2011). Travel mode choice. In B. Porter (editor), Handbook of traffic psychology (pp. 485-502). Elsevier academic press.

Thøgersen, J. (2006). Norms for environmentally responsible behavior: An extended taxonomy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26(4), 247-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2006.09.004

van Lange, P., van Vugt, M., & De Cremer, D. (2000). Choosing between personal comfort and environment: solutions to the transportation dilemma. En M. Van Vugt, M. Snyder, T. Tyler & A. Biel. (editors). Cooperation in modern society. Promoting the welfare of communities, states and organizations (pp. 45-63). Routledge Research International Series in Social Psychology.

Vihelmson, B. (2007). The use of car-mobility dependencies of urban everyday life. In T. Gärling, & L. Steg. (editors). Threats from car traffic to the quality of urban life: problems, causes and solutions (pp. 145-164). Elsevier.

Zhu, G., So, K. K. F., & Hudson, S. (2017). Inside the sharing economy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(9), 2218-2239. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-09-2016-0496

Downloads

Published

2026-02-12

How to Cite

Cruz Jurado, C. A., Bustos Aguayo, J. M., Flores Herrera, L. M., Andrade Palos, P., López Carranza, E., & Martínez Guerrero, J. (2026). Cooperation in motorized urban mobility in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico’s Valley. Costa Rican Journal of Psychology, 45(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.22544/rcps.v45i01.03

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 1 (2026): Environmental Psychology in Latin America: Critical Perspectives and Regional Challenges (January-June, continuous publication)

Section

Environmental Psychology in Latin America

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Costa Rican Journal of Psychology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

El Colegio, como institución editora, tiene todos los derechos reservados (copyright) sobre lo que se publica en la revista.  Los autores y las autoras firman una declaración de cesión de derechos de autoría en el caso de aceptación de sus manuscritos para publicación en la revista, conforme con lo establecido en la legislación vigente.  

Los artículos publicados representarán el punto de vista de su autoría y no de la revista, por lo que la autoría asume responsabilidad ante cualquier litigio o reclamación relacionada con derechos de propiedad intelectual y exonera de cualquier responsabilidad a la Revista Costarricense de Psicología y al Colegio.  

La revista publicará en cada edición su política de acceso abierto (p.ej., Creative Commons).  El material publicado en la revista puede ser copiado, fotocopiado, duplicado y compartido siempre y cuando sea expresamente atribuido al Colegio.  El material de la revista no puede ser usado para fines comerciales.