Assessing indoor air quality and intention to air at home : psychological determinants and the halo effect ; Evaluer la qualité de l'air intérieur et intention d'aérer au domicile : déterminants psychologiques et effet de halo

Air pollution in enclosed spaces is significant and can cause serious health conditions (e.g., respiratory cancers). Some behaviors such as manual ventilation have a beneficial contribution on indoor air quality (Awbi, 2017). Nevertheless, very little research documents the volitional (and psychological) part of this gesture within domestic spaces (D'Oca et al., 2014).Using an augmented Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model (Ajzen, 1991), the initial studies in this thesis (Study 1&2) identified the preponderant share of Attitudes and Habits, in predicting the behavioral intention to air the home (Durand et al., 2022). In a larger sample representative of the French population (Study 3), the TPB variables take precedence over socio-demographic and environmental variables considered as important triggers of ventilation. Extending this research, we explored the influence of context cues in the formulation of a subjective evaluation of indoor air quality. Through three studies (Study 4, 5 & 6), we observed an aesthetic halo effect causing an overestimation of the air quality of a domestic room. This biased evaluation did not, however, have an overall impact on the motivation to air the room (Study 6). The final study of this thesis (Study 7) was also unable to show the influence of aesthetics on ventilation choices. All our results show that the prediction of the volitional elements framing aeration, allow a better understanding of this health gesture. They can now be used to frame health campaigns on the promotion of ventilation. ; La pollution de l’air des espaces fermés est importante et peut causer des affections graves pour la santé (e.g. cancers des voies respiratoires). Certains comportements comme l’aération manuelle ont un apport bénéfique sur la qualité de l’air intérieur (Awbi, 2017). Néanmoins, très peu de recherches documentent la part volitionnelle (et psychologique) de ce geste au sein des espaces domestiques (D’Oca et al., 2014). A l’aide d’un modèle augmenté de la théorie du comportement ...