Psych 409a: October 22, 2006

Different Age Group Identities

By:  Justin Koito

 

Instructions for this activity are found at:

 http://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).  Chapter 7: Driving Identities over the Lifespan.  Pages 97-104

 

 

Different Age Group Identities

 

I.                    Driving Research

A.     Young novice drivers (mostly males) are most at risk for unsafe traffic rules

B.     Elderly at risk of car collisions and not selecting the optimum time to be on the road

C.     Middle-aged driver can see that there is a need for safety in traffic, but dismiss any actions needed to be taken

 

II.                 Driving Teamwork

A.     Although it takes individual to drive a car, it takes everyone’s cooperation to utilize traffic safety

B.     I.E. (Ontario, Canada) Without the being courteous to other drivers, everyone would get mad at each other like how the school teacher, Gordon Thompson and his friend blocked traffic by driving the speed limit next to each other

 

III.               Driver Personality

A.     Person’s driving style depicts the driver’s personality

B.     Type of car driven also depicts a driver’s personality and social status

C.     Erikson’s psychosocial stages play key factors into the makeup of a driver’s personality

 

IV.              Road Safety for Young Children

A.     Teaching children at a young age the right driving values can start to point them in on the right way of how to drive

B.     Honour system: moral code that details which behaviors are to be exhibited in which situations to maintain one’s status as an honorable member of a particular identity group

 

V.                 Young Novice Drivers: Forming Driver Identities

A.     Unknown how many various driving identities there are to young drivers

 

VI.              Middle-Aged Drivers: Maintaining Identity and Code Expectations

A.     Middle-age is a time to reestablish identity and moral codes

B.     Time used to high-light drivers flaws and how to go about fixing the flaws

 

VII.            Driving Cessation Among Elderly Drivers

A.     Elderly drivers see driving as an autonomy of oneself

B.     To give up driving is to lose oneself

C.     One way to ease the blow of not driving is to have driving programs that have the elderly car pool with one another and each driver has to drive less

 

VIII.         Conclusion

A.     Driving is inherently social

B.     Steps can be taken to combat unsafe driving habits

C.     Steps can be taken to help those who feel that they are losing their identity if having to give up driving indefinitely

 

Related Links

 

  1. What’s Your Driving Personality:   http://www.roadandtravel.com/newsworthy/newsandviews03/allstatesurvey2.htm - In the article, it describes the different types of driver personality.  They label aggressive drivers as “Auto-Bahners.”  It describes those aggressive drivers as driving 71 mph on average and drinkers.

 

  1. NMA’s Position on Elderly Driving:  http://www.motorists.com/issues/elderly/elderly.html - This article seem interesting because it gave a different approach to elderly drivers.  Normally people attribute bad driving of the elderly with poor motor skills, but this article says it is disease related.

 

  1. The Keys to Defensive Driving:  http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/driving_safety.html - This article mainly describes the importance of defensive driving and tips on how to be a defensive driver.  It tells of how people multi-task that put others in danger.  Defensive driving means to be alert at all times and to watch out for other people as well as yourself.

 

My Home page:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/koito/koito-home.htm

Class Home Page:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm