Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel

  • Published:
Transportation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Previous research demonstrates an impact on subjective well-being (SWB) of affect associated with routine performance of out-of-home activities. A primary aim of the present study is to investigate whether satisfaction with daily travel has a positive impact on SWB, either directly or indirectly through facilitating the performance of out-of-home activities. A secondary aim is to determine whether emotional-symbolic or instrumental reasons for car use results in higher satisfaction with daily travel than other travel modes. A survey of a population-based sample of 1,330 Swedish citizens included measures of car access and use, satisfaction with daily travel, satisfaction with performance of out-of-home routine activities, and affective and cognitive SWB. The results confirmed that the effect on affective and cognitive SWB of satisfaction with daily travel is both direct and indirect via satisfaction with performance of activities. Percent weekly car use had a small effect on satisfaction with daily travel and on affective SWB, although fully mediating the effect of satisfaction with performance of the activities. This suggests that car use plays a minor role for satisfaction with daily travel and its effect on SWB. This role may be larger if investigated after a forced reduced car use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Response rates usually differ between urban, suburban and rural areas.

  2. Some of the modules were included in the questionnaire for other purposes. The results for responses recorded in these modules are reported in Jakobsson Bergstad et al. (2009, 2010).

References

  • Argyle, M.: Causes and correlates in happiness. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E., Schwarz, N. (eds.) Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, pp. 353–373. Russell Sage Foundation, New York (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Axhausen, K., Gärling, T.: Activity-based approaches to travel analysis: conceptual frameworks, models, and research problems. Transp. Rev. 12, 323–341 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A.E., Oswald, A.J.: Satisfaction and comparison income. J. Public Econ. 61, 359–381 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E.L., Ryan, R.M.: Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. J. Happiness Stud. 9, 1–11 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., Griffen, S.: The satisfaction with life scale. J. Pers. Assess. 49, 71–75 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Lucas, R.E., Schimmack, U., Helliwell, J.F.: Well-Being for Public Policy. Oxford University Press, New York (2009)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Seligman, M.E.P.: Beyond money: toward an economy of well-being. Psychol. Sci. Public Interest 5(1), 1–31 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E.: Measuring quality of life: economic, social, and subjective indicators. Soc. Indic. Res. 40, 189–216 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E.M., Lucas, R.E., Smith, H.L.: Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychol. Bull. 125, 276–302 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R.A.: Feeding the illusion of growth and happiness: a reply to Hagerty and Veenhoven. Soc. Indic. Res. 74, 429–443 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ettema, D., Gärling, T., Olsson, L.E., Friman, M.: Out-of-home activities, daily travel, and subjective well-being (2010, Manuscript submitted for publication)

  • Ettema, D., Timmermans, H.J.P.: Activity-Based Approaches to Travel Analysis. Pergamon, Oxford (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A.: Income and well-being: an empirical analysis of the comparison income effect. J. Public Econ. 89, 997–1019 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frederick, S., Loewenstein, G.: Hedonic adaptation. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E., Schwarz, N. (eds.) Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, pp. 302–329. Russell Sage Foundation, New York (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Friman, M.: The structure of affective reactions to critical incidents. J. Econ. Psychol. 25, 331–353 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friman, M., Edvardsson, B., Gärling, T.: Perceived service quality attributes in public transport: inferences from complaints and negative critical incidents. J. Public Transp. 2, 69–91 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • Friman, M., Edvardsson, B., Gärling, T.: Frequency of negative critical incidents and satisfaction with public transport services. I. J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 8, 95–104 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friman, M., Gärling, T.: Frequency of negative critical incidents and satisfaction with public transport services. II. J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 8, 105–114 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gärling, T., Gärling, A., Loukopoulos, P.: Forecasting psychological consequences of car-use reduction: a challenge to an environmental psychology of transportation. Appl. Psychol. 51, 90–106 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gove, W.R., Shin, H.: The psychological well-being of divorced and widowed men and women. J. Fam. Issues 11, 4–35 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hägerstrand, T.: What about people in regional science? Reg. Sci. Assoc. Pap. 24, 7–21 (1970)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hildebrand, E.D.: Dimensions in elderly travel behaviour: a simplified activity-based model using lifestyle clusters. Transportation 30, 285–306 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsson, C.: Instrumental motives for private car use. In: Gärling, T., Steg, L. (eds.) Threats to the Quality of Urban Life From Car Traffic: Problems, Causes, and Solutions, pp. 205–233. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsson Bergstad, C., Gamble, A., Gärling, T., Hagman, O., Polk, M., Olsson, L.E.: Affective-symbolic and instrumental-independence psychological motives mediating effects of socio-demographic variables on daily car use. J. Transp. Geogr. (2010, in press)

  • Jakobsson Bergstad, C., Gamble, A., Hagman, O., Polk, M., Gärling, T., Ettema, D., Friman, M., & Olsson, L.E.: Impacts of routine out-of-home activities on subjective well-being (Göteborg Psychological Reports No. 39:4). Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden. Downloadable from http://www.psy.gu.se (2009, in press)

  • Jones, P.M., Dix, M.C., Clarke, I., Heggie, I.G.: Understanding Travel Behaviour. Gower, Aldershot (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D.: Objective happiness. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E., Schwarz, N. (eds.) Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, pp. 3–25. Russell Sage Foundation, New York (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., Stone, A.: A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: the day reconstruction method (DRM). Science 306, 1776–1780 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, T.K., Frank, L., Bradley, M., Kavage, S., Chapman, J.: Urban form, travel time, and cost relationships with tour complexity and mode choice. Transportation 35, 37–54 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., Diener, E.: The benefits of frequent positive affect: does happiness lead to success? Psychol. Bull. 131, 803–855 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McFadden, D.: Disaggregate behavioral travel demand’s RUM side—a 30 years retrospective. In: Hensher, D.A. (ed.) Travel Behavior Research, pp. 17–63. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2001)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mokhtarian, P.L., Salomon, I., Redmond, L.S.: Understanding the demand for travel: It’s not purely ‘derived’. Innovation 14, 355–380 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mokhtarian, P.L., Salomon, I.: How derived is the demand for travel? Some conceptual and measurement considerations. Transp. Res. A 35, 695–719 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, R.L.: Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer, 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavot, W., Diener, E.: Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychol. Assess. 5, 164–172 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U.: The structure of subjective well-being. In: Eid, M., Larsen, R.J. (eds.) The Science of Subjective Well-Being, pp. 97–123. Guilford Press, New York (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U., Schupp, J., Wagner, G.G.: The influence of environment and personality on the affective and cognitive component of subjective well-being. Soc. Indic. Res. 89, 41–60 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, N., Kahneman, D., Xu, J.: Global and episodic reports of hedonic experience. In: Belli, R., Stafford, F., Alwin, D. (eds.) Calendar and Time Diary Methods in Life Course Research, pp. 157–174. SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Sweden: Statistical database (on-line). Downloadable from http://www.ssd.scb.se (2009)

  • Steg, L.: Car use lust and must: Instrumental, symbolic and affective motives for car use. Transp. Res. A 39(2–3), 147–162 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A.A., Shiffman, S.S., DeVries, M.W.: Ecological momentary assessment. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E., Schwarz, N. (eds.) Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, pp. 26–39. Russell-Sage, New York (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stradling, S.G., Anable, J., Carreno, M.: Performance, importance and user disgruntlement: a six-step method for measuring satisfaction with travel modes. Transp. Res. A 41, 98–106 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis: RES 2005–2006: den nationella resvaneundersökningen (in Swedish) [TRAVEL 2005–2006: The national travel survey]. Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis, Stockholm. Downloadable from http://sika-institute.se (2007)

  • Tesch-Römer, C., Motel-Klingebiel, A., Tomasik, M.J.: Gender differences in subjective well-being: comparing societies with respect to gender equality. Soc. Indic. Res. 85, 329–349 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tkash, C., Lyubomirsy, S.: How do people pursue happiness? Relating personality, happiness-increasing strategies, and well-being. J. Happiness Stud. 7, 183–225 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Västfjäll, D., Friman, M., Gärling, T., Kleiner, M.: The measurement of core affect: a Swedish self-report measure. Scand. J. Psychol. 43, 19–31 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Västfjäll, D., Gärling, T.: Validation of a Swedish short self-report measure of core affect. Scand. J. Psychol. 48, 233–238 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A.S., Schwartz, S.J., Conti, R.: The implications of two conceptions of happiness (hedonic enjoyment and eudaimonia) for the understanding of intrinsic motivation. J. Happiness Stud. 9, 41–79 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L.A., Tellegen, A.: Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 54, 1063–1070 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Values Survey: World Values Survey 2005–2006 Wave, Root version. Downloadable from http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org (2005)

Download references

Acknowledgements

Financial support for this research was obtained by grant #AL90A 2006:16305 from the Swedish Road Administration through the program “Bilens sociala och ekonomiska betydelse” (Social and economic impacts of the automobile) (www.BISEK.se) to the Centre for Consumer Science, School of Business, Economics, and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 500, 40530, Göteborg, Sweden

    Cecilia Jakobsson Bergstad, Amelie Gamble & Tommy Gärling

  2. Section for Science and Technology Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Olle Hagman

  3. Human Ecology, School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Merritt Polk

  4. Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Dick Ettema

  5. The Service and Market Oriented Transport Research Group (SAMOT), Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

    Margareta Friman & Lars E. Olsson

Authors
  1. Cecilia Jakobsson Bergstad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amelie Gamble
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tommy Gärling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Olle Hagman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Merritt Polk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Dick Ettema
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Margareta Friman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Lars E. Olsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tommy Gärling.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bergstad, C.J., Gamble, A., Gärling, T. et al. Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel. Transportation 38, 1–15 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-010-9283-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-010-9283-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation