PSY 409A October 16, 2006

The Effect of Age, Gender, and Type of Car on Driving

By Rhiannon Tokita

Instructions for this activity are found at:

Instructor: Dr. Leon James

The Effect of Age, Gender, and Car Type Effects on Driving Across the States: Article 08

I. The Effect of Age

a. Young drivers are usually more aggressive than older drivers

b. Young drivers rated themselves more aggressive than middle aged drivers and older drivers.

c. Young drivers (15-24) are more likely than middle aged and senior drivers to swear while driving

i. 6 out of 10 young drivers swear at other drivers, while 4 out of 10 senior drivers swear at other drivers

d. Fifty two percent of young drivers admitted to speeding, while nineteen percent of senior drivers admitted to speeding

II. The Effect of Gender

a. Men describe themselves as being more aggressive than woman (60% vs. 55%)

b. Men rated themselves as an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 when it came to excellence as a driver. Women rated themselves as a 7.

i. The data is not clear cut because of the possibilities that men just think more highly of themselves rather than actually being better drivers.

c. Women are more likely to swear and cuss at other drivers as compared to men

d. There appears to be no difference in men and women when it comes to lane changing without signaling.

e. Women are 3% more likely than men to run a red light.

III. The Effect of Types of Cars

a. The most aggressive drivers are men who driver sports cars and SUVs and women who drive SUVs and light trucks

b. The group that sees themselves as being the least aggressive are the women who drive vans.

c. People who drive SUVs and light trucks admitted that they were most likely to swear and cuss when they were driving these cars

d. Males who drive sports cars admitted to outspeeding everyone else

e. Patterns show that the type of car driven has a huge influence on how aggressive the driver gets

IV. Driving Zones

a. Zone 1- Zone of Impatience

i. Mild speeding

ii. Swearing

iii. Running red lights

b. Zone 2- Zone of Hostility

i. Yelling and honking at other drivers

ii. Tailgating

iii. Flashing bright lights at other drivers

c. Zone 3- Zone of Road Rage

i. Cutting people off

ii. Chasing

iii. Fighting