Report
#4
RESISTANCE
TO TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY
By
Darin K. Kawamoto
For Psychology 459, I am doing a driving personality make-over of
three people that I chose. The purpose is to find a
specific traffic problem of the subjects, and help
them to overcome it, while monitoring their
objections, reactions, and resistance. As a traffic
psychologist, I will relate my observations to
psychological theories, philosophies, and ideas.
The three subjects that I chose were Debbie Miyasaka, Harry Kanemoto, and
Brian Sakamoto. Debbie Miyasaka is twenty-four
years old and holds a BA in Psychology. She is
currently enrolled in the MSW program at the
University of Hawaii. Harry Kanemoto is fifty years
old and works full time as a manager for Lumber Inc.
He holds an engineering degree from the University
of Hawaii. Brian Sakamoto is twenty-two years old and is working towards
a BA in Speech at the University of Hawaii.Debbie Miyasaka's
problem in
traffic is that she gets angry when other drivers cut in front of
her, and start traveling slow. She can't understand
why cars traveling behind her suddenly cut in front
of her, just to travel slower. Why can't other cars
just stay behind her? Miss Miyasaka does not get
mad at other drivers because they are tailgating her
or cutting her off. She becomes angry when other
drivers are purposely tailgating or cutting her off,
just to irritate her. One example she gives is when
she was traveling on H-1 toward the University, when
a white Mazada was traveling in front of her at a
slow pace. Miss Miyasaka cut over into another lane
in an attempt to pass the slow moving vehicle.
However, before she could overtake the Mazada, the
other driver cut in front of her. From the Kinau
on-ramp until the University on-ramp, the Mazada
would cut in front of Miss. Miyasaka everytime she
attempted to cut into another lane. Finally, Miss
Miyasaka was in the far right lane so she could exit
onto University, and the Mazada forced its way
between Miss. Miyasaka and the car in front of her.
Miss. Miyasaka was angry, because the driver of the
Mazada was purposely irritating her. She did not
know the driver of the Mazada, well she hopes not.
Miss Miyasaka wanted to change her traffic personality so she
wouldn't get angry in traffic, which made her
stressed. The method that I gave her to change was
to imagine that the driver cutting in front of her
was a loved one. It was hard for her to imagine the
driver cutting in front of her as a loved one,
because why would a loved one do such a thing. I
suggested maybe the loved one could be joking or
making themselves noticeable to Miss Miyasaka. If a
person interprets an action a certain way, then
their response would be in accordance to their
interpretation. So if Miss Miyasaka interpreted the
other driver's action in a jokingly manner by a loved
one, then she would not become angry or stressed.
However, Miss Miyasaka was still angry at the other
drivers cutting in front of her, but she became more forgiving. It was hard
for her to imagine the driver cutting in front of
her was a loved one when she was angry, because in
reality she knew the other driver was not a loved
one.
Miss Miyasaka and I went in traffic to apply our methodology in
dealing with drivers that cut in front of her. A driver suddenly cut in
front of her, and she screamed and started making comments. Then I
reminded her about her methodology, which was to imagine the other driver
as a loved one. After I reminded her, she calmed down. Now it's up to
her to remind herself in traffic if someone cuts her off again.
Harry Kanemoto's problem in driving is that he gets irritated by
other drivers who park in the middle of the aisle
when waiting for a parking stall. He can't
understand why people can't park on either side of
the aisle, so there is ample space for cars to pass.
One example was when Mr. Kanemoto was turning into
the parking lot of Long's Drugs, when he was blocked
by a lady waiting for a parking stall, but no cars
were pulling out. This made it difficult for Mr.
Kanemoto, because his car was sticking out onto the
main road. He could not drive his car fully into
the parking lot. Mr. Kanemoto was forced to reverse
his car, and was able to squeeze his car past the
parked car.
This was a difficult case, because I think it is rude to block
parking aisles, especially if there is no car
pulling out. I could tell him to honk his horn or
start yelling at the other driver to get out of the
way, but this will just anger the other driver. I
believe it is more productive to get a point across
without using retaliation or insulting means. We
decided to step out of the car, and kindly ask the
other driver to move their car, because they are
blocking the roadway. I'm sure most drivers would
move without hesistation, because they probably
don't know they are blocking the way. However,
there are few that probably will need more
convincing to move. This is more productive than
just getting angry, and passing that anger towards
another driver through retaliation or insults. This
way, Mr. Kanemoto gets his point across without any
hard feelings towards either driver.
This is easy to do when the other driver is complient, but what if
they're not? Should Mr. Kanemoto argue until he gets his point across, or
use brute force? No, because it won't work. Mr. Kanemoto will just be
wasting his time by arguing, and simultaneously making himself more
angry. Picking a fight could lead to more destructive elements, like
broken bones or jail. The best solution would be to find a security
guard or someone who has authority over the parking lot, because there
should be one. Then tell them about your predicament, and let them
handle it. Now, Mr. Kanemoto got his point across, and did not waste his
time getting angry or stressed.
Brian Sakamoto's problem in traffic is that he gets angry at
cyclists who think they have the right of way. For
example, he got in the way of a cyclist when turning
out of the parking lot at Kahala Mall. The cyclist
was carrying a couple bag of groceries, and was
forced to stop. The cyclist was upset, because Mr.
Sakamoto did not let him pass before pulling out.
They made eye contact, and Mr. Sakamoto got out of
the car and started bad-mouthing the cyclist. The
cyclist did not want any trouble, and put out his
hand as a friendly gesture. The two of them parted
after shaking hands.
I can sympathize with Mr. Sakamoto, because
when I drive on the road, I am forced to avoid
cyclists who think they own the road. They also
hold up traffic, because other drivers have to slow
down in an attempt to avoid them too. My advice to
him was simple. I told him not to get angry at the
cyclist, but to feel sorry for them. Feel sorry for
them, because they are forced to ride bicycles,
because they can't afford cars. With this mentality,
Mr. Sakamoto would probably be more willing to
give cyclists the right of way. Mr. Sakamoto can't
go on arguing with cyclists, because it is unhealthy
mentally and physically for him. We have to
encourage people to ride bicycles, not discourage
them, because it alleviates traffic on the roads and
pollution in the air.
When Mr. Sakamoto and I went on the road
again, we were encountered by cyclists. However,
this time Mr. Sakamoto was very courteous to them.
I guess feeling sorry for someone or something does
work.
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