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Motonormativity

Bias whereby car usage is seen as a social norm From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Motonormativity
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Motonormativity (also motornormativity, windshield bias, or car brain) is an unconscious cognitive bias in which the assumption is made that motor car ownership and use is an unremarkable social norm.[1]

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1966 AMC Ambassador DPL advertisement

Coinage

The term was coined by Swansea University psychologist Ian Walker, Alan Tapp and Adrian Davis in a 2023 UK study.[2][3] The study was replicated in the US by Tara Goddard in 2024.[4]

Description and significance

Motonormativity is not a bias confined just to motorists, but is a feature of car-centric societies.[5] Walker has argued that a consequence of motonormative bias is that any attempt to reduce car use is not seen plainly for what it is, but interpreted as an attempt to curtail personal freedom.[5] This effect has been documented not just in famously car-dependent North America, but around the world.[6]

A 2024 study found that Americans displayed a significant "windshield bias," where participants were more accepting of negative externalities associated with cars compared to similar non-car scenarios.[4] This bias aligns with previous research in the UK, highlighting a pervasive societal tendency to overlook the public health hazards of car-centric systems.[4]

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Examples

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Aerial view of Arrowhead Stadium in 2013 surrounded by parking lot

Walker has cited certain road safety campaigns targeting children as an example of motonormativity: by encouraging children to wear brightly coloured clothing to avoid being run over, such campaigns normalize the idea of motor traffic as an accepted danger others must adjust to, in a way which in other contexts would be considered victim blaming.[5]

Motonormativity may affect planning decisions so that, for example, a new hospital is built outside a city even though that makes it less accessible to city dwellers who cannot drive or do not have a car.[2]

See also

References

Further reading

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