POSITIVE COMMUNITY BEHAVIOUR CHANGE: Decrease Aggression at the Lismore Transit Centre: Increasing a Sense of Positive Self and Community

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POSITIVE COMMUNITY BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

Decrease Aggression at the Lismore Transit Centre: Increasing a Sense of Positive Self and Community

Executive Summary:

Aggression at the core bus stop of Lismore has vast negative impacts on the community; residents avoid using public transport and people using the service are ostracised. Children who change over busses from school are fearful, parents of these children reluctant to send them by bus.

In collaboration with the Lismore City Council and the Transit Centre, we will implement an antecedent based behaviour change intervention to alleviate the expressed and experienced aggression. Our intervention comprises changes in the environment, based on research from environment and behaviour science and will implement a four-week poster campaign based on the principles of relational framing and stimulus equivalence derived from acceptance and commitment therapy insights. The campaign is a blend of thought- provoking, thought-changing and mindfulness-based stimuli.

Decreasing aggression will increase safety and reassure the public to use the Transit Centre more regularly. This will further create connections within the community and decrease hostility.

Background:

Lismore council is being urged by the community to create a securer environment around the main bus stop. Council has received complaints about increased levels of aggression and violence. Aggressive behaviour observed at the Lismore Transit Centre ranges from provocative remarks, hand gestures and spitting, yelling, swearing and loud arguing to physical fights.

We assessed via qualitative interviews that the level of discomfort and anxiety experienced by travellers, particularly by parents and children, is significant. Parents said that they are afraid of missing the time when the school bus arrives. The prospect of their child waiting alone is distressing because of the recurrent aggressive outbursts. We observed fast forward footage from the street camera for two weeks, focussing on the time between 1pm and 6pm. Frequency measuring of aggressive behaviour showed that in that time frame aggression occurred on average 14 times. One key window of interest is when children arrive and change over busses from school, between 3pm and 4pm. The rate of aggression recorded during that time was lower overall; on average 6 times a week. We conclude that a greater diversity of people using the service keeps aggression at ease. Other behaviours like smoking, drinking alcohol and leaving trash have been considered, yet evaluation of cusp behaviours identified aggression to be of greatest social importance. Smoking and drinking are secondary behaviours due to distress.

Our behaviour analysis concluded that on days when the environment was littered, aggression also increased. This antecedent aspect will be taken into account for our proposal. Antecedent behaviour analysis further identified that conflict occurs when people with pre-existing tensions are being forced to wait together in the small bus zone. The sitting benches are placed back to back, this allows no eye contact or personal space. People hit each other over the benches on the head. We further observed intoxication to varying degrees by varying substances. Some individuals involved in aggressive behaviour are known to council and police. They are conflicted by post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injury, addiction, poverty and enduring life crisis. We believe an intervention needs to address flexibility of perception.

Methodology:

We propose to turn the Transit Centre into an inspirational and restorative environment where the community connects; a space that will attract people to use the public transport instead of avoiding that option because of adverse experiences at the bus stop. The increased presence of additional travellers from diverse backgrounds will have an abative effect on aggression.

We will apply a suggestive motivational operation (MO) by turning the area around the Transit Centre into a 20km/h shared zone; pedestrians have priority to cars. The benches are to be arranged so they face each other, and plants need to be positioned to section the area.

As discriminative stimuli, we propose the construction of vertical gardens along the walls of the building will turn the bus zone into a green space. Furthermore, the bus stop must be clean and tidy at all times and all signs with reprimands will have to be removed. Instead, verbal prompts in the form of a two-sided poster is left installed for one week, then changed over, duration of the campaign takes four weeks. Our campaign aims to change behaviour from aggression to connection.

Poster 1:

 

Contradiction (to the beautification of the environment) and getting attention. A black marker hangs from the top corner to write on the poster and enter a conversation. 

Smells are distinctive of the present moment. Reminders to use that sense is a way to focus on the present, the environment, and state of mind.  

Poster 2: 

 

Create a stimulus equivalence between the ‘you’, the ‘Transit Centre’ and transient existence of emotions, crisis, relationships, and life.

Poster 3: 

Mindfulness exercise using the Troxler’s effect; diffuse stimulus fades when perception prioritizes the centre. 

Acceptance and commitment therapy principles visualised (based on Steven Hayes ideas).

Poster 4: 

Functional communication training in a word search exercise that focusses on the present and indicates towards a committed future: helpful, angry, compassionate, brave, sad, sober, happy, alive, honest, efficient, smart, lonely, argumentative, accepting, curious, connected, loved, hostile, hurt, free, shy, rich, nice, high, patient, scary, weak, strong, sexy, committed, tired, sick, bored, stressed, hurt, appreciated, proud, and committed.

Deliverables:

Enriching the bus environment with our proposed changes will function as an abolishing operation, thus decrease engaging in aggressive behaviour (Cooper, Heron & Heward, 2014). Shared spaces require that the public takes responsibility (Monderman, 2008). It will increase overall supervision and improve accessibility for all community members. Sectioning gives customers choices where and with whom to wait for their bus, thus decreasing tensions. A greener environment (Kuo & Sulliman, 2001) and the family-setting seating structure establishes a calmer and more communicative environment. Cleanliness of environments has a beneficial effect on positive behaviour (Keizer, 2008).

As people are walking around the poster to read the other side, they might find a different perspective. They will communicate about life constructively.

We record and analyse reactions and changes in behaviour via the installed street camera. Follow up will happen in another month at reversal of the poster campaign to evaluate if its impact.

References

Cooper, J., Heron, T., & Heward, W. (2014). Applied Behaviour Analysis (2nd ed.).

Harlow, Essex: Pearson.
Hayes, S. C., & Smith, S. (2005). Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (1st ed.). United States: New Harbinger

Publications.
Keizer, K., Lindenberg, S., & Steg, L. (2008). The Spreading of Disorder. Science,

322;5908, 1681–1685. doi:10.1126/science.1161405
Kuo, F., & Sullivan, W. (2001). Aggression and Violence in the Inner City: Effects of

Environment via Mental Fatigue. Environment and Behavior, 33;4, 543–571.

doi:10.1177/00139160121973124
Monderman, H. (2011). Shared Space. Het concept en zijn toepassing. Retrieved from

https://www.publicspaceinfo.nl/media/uploads/files/NHL_2011_0001.pdf Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 1: Life stinks! Smell the change. Created with

www.canva.com. Freeware images retrieved from www.canva.com
Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 2: You = Transit Centre. You = Not Stuck. Flexibility: Your

Emotions. Your Self. Your Relationships. Created with www.canva.com. Image retrieved from https://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/these-pictures-with-double- meanings-might-just-hurt-your-brain/84556957/

Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 2: Flexibility: Your Emotions. Your Self. Your Relationships. Created with www.canva.com. Image retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/63645-optical-illusion-young-old-woman.html

Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 3: You are here. Rest. Move on. Created with www.canva.com. Image retrieved from https://www.insider.com/classic-optical- illusions-2018-1#this-cube-plays-with-human-perception-19

Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 3: Run, fight, hide or Be present, open up, do what matters. Created with www.canva.com. Images retrieved from https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-Crouching-Figure-in- Charcoal/988399/3588411/view and https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free- vectors/person-standing-open-arms-vectors

Wuhrmann, C. I. (2019). Poster 4: Who Are You? Who Will You Be? Created with http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp and www.canva.com. Freeware images retrieved from www.canva.com.