Psy 409a,   Sept. 24, 2006

Self-Witnessing, Threefold-Self, and Driving Behavior

by Gina Kim

 

Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm 

Instructor: Dr. Leon James

Peter Rothe, Editor (2002). Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer. (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press). pp.34-49.

 

A. Driver Self-Witnessing

                1. Self-witnessing means to think aloud and it is a technique that has been used in many different types of studies that want to see thought processes.

                2. Using this with drivers shows us their affective states and cognitive processes.

B. Driver’s Threefold Self

                1. Acquiring behavior or a habit occurs in three domains: Affective, Cognitive, and Sensorimotor

                                a. Affective – this can be seen when a driver reacts emotionally

                                b. Cogintive – this can be seen when a driver thinks or tries to reason with what is happening

                                c. Sensorimotor – this can be seen when a driver describes what he is doing while driving and describes his motor actions.

C. Driver’s Mental Health

                1. Driving causes incidents in which drivers can experience extreme emotions.

                                a. extreme physiological reactions

                                b. extreme emotional reactions

                                c. extreme irrational thought sequences

                2. This is very unhealthy for drivers and further studies must be done to figure out a way to help this problem.

D. Taxonomy of Driving Behavior

                1. When obtaining data regarding driving behavior, a driver’s skills are labeled as (+) and errors are labeled as (-).

                2. There are also 3 levels of driver competence.

                                a. Level 1 = Proficiency

                                b. Level 2 = Safety

                                c. Level 3 = Responsibility

                3. There is a three step program for self-modification

                                a. Acknowledge the fact that there is a negative problem to be fixed

                                b. Witness yourself doing this particular negative behavior

                                c. Modify this behavior

 

LINKS

1.  Driving Tips : http://www.smartmotorist.com/tip/tip.htm - This website gives  a list of 21 smart driving tips for new drivers. I liked it because it helps to promote safe driving from the beginning. It also gives other helpful tips about drowsy driving and how to stay patient while driving.

2.  Are You a Road Rager? : http://roadragers.com/ - This website allows you to take a test to analyze your driving skills. It also has another quiz that rates your driving knowledge.  I liked this website because it allows you to see what kind of driver you are and then it gives you safe driving tips.

3. Road Rage as a Mental Disorder : http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/stressmanagement/a/roadrage.htm - This article discusses whether or not road rage is a mental disorder.  It gives a list of what people with road rage do. It also gives a list of other relevant links to articles about road rage and how to handle it as the doer and as the victim.

My Home page:   www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/kim/kim-home.htm  

Class Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm