Report 1
My Understanding of Driving Psychology
By: Jessica Trujillo
Instructions
for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/409a-g25-report1.htm
G25 Lecture Notes on Driving Psychology are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/409a-g25-lecture-notes.htm
Section A: Two Stages of a Driving Personality Makeover Plan
Aloha, my name is Jessica Trujillo, and I am currently in a Driving
Psychology course at the
Table three is titled “Two Stages of a Driving Personality Makeover
Plan”. This table contains two different
stages, as well as the three different levels of driving within an individual
driver. This table gives examples that I
will go through thoroughly later on.
Driving Psychology has many goals, but one of the main goals is to
decrease aggressive driving on the roads.
This table shows you the steps that you will need to take in order to
achieve that goal. Stopping aggressive
driving behaviors is extremely important because it can not only build your
emotional intelligence, but it is also able to help you save lives on the road,
as well as decrease stress while driving, and help you make more intelligent
decisions.
The first stage in this table is all about avoiding being an aggressive
driver. In order to reform your actions
and rid yourself from all negative driving habits, it is important that one
would carefully consider trying to avoid being an aggressive driver.
The affective level of the driver consists of the emotions and the
feelings that each individual driver has.
This can include feeling stressed while driving on the road. This can also include feeling like angry,
mad, and even happy. Again, it just has
to do with the emotions and feelings that come out while driving.
The cognitive level of the driver consists of the thought that flow
through the drivers head. This can
include a sentence like, “Man, that guy is a complete idiot, he shouldn’t even
be allowed to drive!” The cognitive
level of a driver can also include a statement like, “Wow, that person just cut
me off, but I am sure they didn’t mean to, they probably did it
unintentionally. The cognitive level can
either be positive or negative.
The sensorimotor level of the driver consists of the actual actions
carried out by the individual driver.
This can include cutting someone off, letting someone over, speeding,
swerving, and other various actions that the driver actually takes out; not
just the ones he thinks about.
The first step a driver must do in order to have a driver’s personality
make over is to look at the affective level and the things that have to change
in order to avoid being an aggressive driver.
In this first step, the goal is to conquer the struggle to change your
emotions and feelings.
The first thing that is listed in the column is to purpose to yourself
that you will attempt to decrease and lessen the times where you feel angry and
what to get revenge on the other drivers for what they did to you. This takes a very conscious effort on the
part of the driver, because it is sometimes hard to not let your emotions run
wild. The second thing in the affective
level column is to allow your other passengers a safe environment in your car,
in order to express their opinions (either negative or positive), so that you
can use it as constructive criticism.
The next goal in the affective column is to work on not criticizing the
way others drive, and to not degrade them in any way. This is easier said then done, but I believe
that this step is imperative because in order to change the way you act towards
people, you have to change the way you think about them. Having the mindset that not everything other
drivers do on the road personal and that people majority of the times are not
intentionally trying to make you feel angry is very beneficial. Plus, it is important to consider how you
would feel if you were in their shoes.
Finally, in the affective level column it states in effect that you need
to search for as well as set in motion the higher purpose within yourself. This would include acts such as community
service and volunteer work. This would
also consist of giving to charity, and being kind to others around you. This is an vital aspect because it’s crucial
that we remove ourselves from our current mind frame and situation, and that we
consider the bigger picture. Our issues
with others will soon appear smaller and smaller, and if we become ‘others’
minded we stop being so self focused.
The next step to consider is that of the cognitive level. This, remember, is the thoughts that the
driver can have. The little sub title is
“Learning to do Rational Analyses of traffic incidents.” The first thing that an aggressive driver
must learn is that you need to take some responsibility on the road. This means, instead of constantly blaming
others, your need to start recognizing that you might be responsible for some
of the blame. This is important because
aggressive drivers need to learn to think differently.
The second step in the cognitive level is to counteract the self serving
bias that most aggressive drivers have about various incidents. This is imperative because when you finally
admit that you are not the perfect driver, then you can realize that you need
to change, just like everyone else. You
are not always innocent, and changing that bias is important, because it will
start to transform your mind on the road, and create a safer road environment all
together.
The final thing in the cognitive level of avoiding being an aggressive
driver is to attain more self regulatory statements that you can say to your
self in the car. This sentences will
most likely help calm you down. For example,
you can say, “Man, that guy is driving dangerously fast, and he just cut me
off! But I think I will put more people
in danger if I try to run after him and give him a piece of my mind; it hardly
seems worth it.” This shows you that you
can reason with yourself, and in turn control your thoughts and future actions.
The final level that needs to be considered is the sensorimotor level of
stage one. This all has to do with
behavior and acting in a civil manner towards society as a whole. In order to be able to do that, you must
first, attempt to communicate to other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians what
you are thinking and feeling. To do
that, you should signal to let other drivers know what you are about to do,
smile at other drivers to alleviate hostility, and wave at people in order to
thank them for their kindness.
Communication is a key to any part of life, and driving is not a
exception.
The second sensorimotor action that you need to consider is to not
swear, not rush in, and not crowd. It is
important to transform your mind and your action in order to create a safe
environment on the road. Swearing at
others only at fuel to the fire and increases everyone’s danger on the
road. In order to not rush in, and not
crowd, you must consider what time to leave your house. It is important to give yourself enough time
to get where you are going so that there is no need to rush around everywhere,
because crowding and rushing can cause accidents.
The next thing that needs to change is acting aggressive towards your
other passengers. It is important that
the passengers in the car feel safe when they are driving with you, and you as
a driver have their lives in your hands.
Avoiding aggression towards your passengers will not only save you
stress, but it will also allow the ride to be a pleasant one, and create a
harmless atmosphere in the vehicle. This
will also allow the aggressive driver to understand that whatever the passenger
says in only to try to help the driver become an even better driver.
Finally, the last thing in stage one is to pretend that you are in a
good mood even if you are not on the road.
If you allow the days events to get to you, then they will affect your
driving, and it could not only cost you a lot of money, but also your
life. It is important that you can try
to de-stress, and relax prior to getting behind the wheel, and that way you
will keep yourself safer, and the other drivers on the road. Don’t get behind a wheel angry- that is one
of the most hazardous things you can do.
Stage two can happen once stage one has occurred. Stage two has the responsibility of showing a
once aggressive driver how to not only stop being aggressive, but how to now be
a supportive driver. This is important
you learn the difference between supportive driver and defensive driver. The goal in driving psychology is to become a
supportive driver. Imagine if everyone
became a supportive driver. The roads
would be completely transformed, and I believe that the deaths on the road
would decrease significantly.
The first thing is the affective level which in this case is helping you
maintain an overall helpful orientation toward other drivers on the road. In this level it is important to make sure
that you feel responsible for your errors, and of the errors that you do make,
that you attempt compensate for it.
Taking personal responsibility is important in any part of life, and
even more so in driving
The next thing in the affective level that needs to be accomplished in
order to become a supportive driver is to feel bad about the uncivil or unkind
behaviors on the road. It is important
to not become desensitized to how we act in the car and how we are can affect
others. On the other hand it is just as
imperative that you feel good when you act kind and with consideration and
respect towards others. Don’t sell yourself short, you deserve to fell good
about yourself when you have overcome all the other areas. You are on your way to becoming a supportive
driver.
The next step in the affective level is feeling appreciation when your
passengers give you advice. When you
stop thinking that everyone is against you and trying to criticize you, it
helps you actually feel appreciated by you passengers, and because you can know
that they care about you.
The next and final step in the affective level states that you need to
be forgiving of others flaws, mess ups and mistakes. It is important that you always place
yourself in others shoes and that you can forgive people and not hold grudges
and grow a root of bitterness. If you
can accomplish this, then there would be no need for retaliation and anger
because to forgive is to forget about it.
Also, you know that you are not a perfect driver and that you hope that
others forgive you for your mistakes and flaws.
The cognitive level deals with analyzing driving situations
objectively. In this, it is vital that
you can acknowledge where you fall short in your driving errors, and so that
you can continually plan and practice the alteration and change of those bad
habits. You need to realize that driving
and becoming a supportive driver is not something that happens over night. It is a life long process and we continually
have to work on our bad habits and changed them. It is a conscious effort and not something
that occurs naturally.
The last and final point in the cognitive level is to begin to analyze
other drivers without partiality and without your own bias. This removes the action of the other driver
from becoming personal, and allows you to see that most of the time, things are
not intentionally done. This also will
save you a lot of stress and also help you realize that note everyone has the
same background; it allows you to give others a little bit of grace.
In the final segment of stage two, you see that there is the
sensorimotor level. This level shows us how we are supposed to behave in a
cooperating style. The first step to do
this is to foresee the need of the other drivers, and attempt to help them
accomplish those needs. This is
important because it not only keeps you alert, but it starts to create an
setting that is kind and supportive on the road. It makes other drivers feel good about
theirselves and it also makes you feel good. It is a win – win situation
The final thing in the sensorimotor section is to verbalize a nice
attitude and sentiments and to learn how to actually enjoy driving and relaxing
while doing it. If we are continually
and constantly stressed out and hate driving, then we will start to also drive
horrible, and not have a good sense of individual responsibility. This attitude can be deadly, especially on
the road. There are many different
factors that can make driving enjoyable.
For example, soothing music, leaving early, something to snack on or
drink, air conditioning, and just overall being in a good mood.
Most importantly now, is that you have become a supportive driver, and
that you are no longer easily angered or frustrated. This creates a peaceful
atmosphere for not only you but your other passengers, as well as the other drivers
on the road. Hopefully, you are so good
that your attitude of supportiveness becomes contagious!
This two stage process is difficult to accept and understand if you
don’t even begin to see that you have issues with being an aggressive
driver. I explained the driver
personality make over to a few of my friends, and got various reactions and
opinions.
When I explained this to my first friend ‘Sara’ said that she didn’t
think that all those steps were actually feasible. She thinks that it is highly unlikely that
anyone will actually work out all these steps individually in order to become a
supportive driver. She thinks that it is
a nice thought that people would actually do this, if they are bad drivers, or
struggle with road rage, and of course when I asked her if she thought that she
was an aggressive driver that has road rage tendencies, she answered with a
resounding “no!”
Sara also began telling me that even if someone wanted to do that plan,
she didn’t think that it would be very effective in that person for a long
time. She said that it might work for a
little bit, but that it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and that they
would revert back to their old habits and ways.
She said she could also recommend a few people for this program, but
that she defiantly was a good driver and didn’t need to change a thing. In fact, she said I think that it is mostly
the other people on the road who need to change the way they drive!
I think the most important step for Sara at this point is the Acknowledge,
Witness, and Modify technique. I think
that if I were to talk to her for longer, she might admit at least one thing
she is bad at, (I could name many), and from there we could go on a car ride
and she could acknowledge it. From there
I believe that she might become more aware that she does have a problem, and
then for that point on, she might consider doing the driver personality
makeover. I think it would be very
useful to her if she wanted to change and admitted she had a problem.
My other friend, Erica stated that she think that it is a really good
idea and very clear. She thinks that it
could be effective for even her to use because she realizes that she has a
problem speeding and cutting people off.
She sees that her actions don’t really just affect her, but that they affect
society as a whole and even her own family.
She said that if they could start teaching this to young children that
would be the best, because then the kids might be effective in helping change
the parents. She said she realizes that
the way she drives is teaching her children bad habits.
These two different perspectives are amazing because one friend admits
she has a problem and is willing to change for the sake of society and her
children, and one thinks that it is a good idea for everyone else to use it,
but not for herself. I think everyone
could use this tool in order to help save lives that are so innocently lost
each year.
My conclusion is that people are more accepting of this behavioral
modification system if they are willing to change. People are more apprehensive about it if they
don’t see that they have a problem.
Personally I think that this is a great tool to use in order to change
your behavior from bad habits, to new actions. It is important that we
recognize that we all need a little change and that we are not perfect. If we think we are perfect we will not only
affect ourselves, our passengers, and society as a whole, but also the future
generations.
Section B: Driving Psychology
In this section
I will be discussing what driving psychology is all about and the main
principles of it. I have gotten all my
information from Dr. James’ book Road Rage, and the following website: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/409a-g25-lecture-notes.htm
Driving
psychology has a lot of various aspects combined in it. To begin, driving is essentially a variety of
behaviors acting as cultural norms, according to Dr. James. These norms and standards begin and exist in
three areas that include the affective, the cognitive, and the
sensorimotor. The affective is our
feelings and emotions. The cognitive
level deals with our thoughts and the sensorimotor level is the actual acts and
behaviors that are acted out.
For example, feeling angry (affective) that a
guy is driving bad in front of you, and then thinking (cognitive) “that guy is
such a jerk”, and then speeding up to cut him off (sensorimotor) is a prime
example of all three of these entities working together while a person is
driving.
The second
major principle of driving psychology is that the idea of what is acceptable
when it comes to driving is conveyed and spread through people in our lives beginning
at a young age; it is conveyed through the media which includes TV, magazines,
movies, and various other forms of advertisements.
It is shown
that young kids are constantly influenced by what they see around them. It is also shown that how a parent drives can
also affect the child’s view on what safe driving practices are, and what is
acceptable in society. For example, if a
parent continually doesn’t reinforce seat belt wearing every time the child
gets in the car, then the child might think that wearing his/her seatbelt is an
option rather then a requirement. If the
tables turned, then the child would think that seatbelt wearing is something
that occurs prior to the car moving.
Educating a
child about road safety and how to drive and not drive is very important
because kids start to learn everything early on. If we being to educate them young, we would
most likely have less trouble trying to have them modify their behaviors. It is important to train the parents of
children to teach their children wisely, and to make them aware that the
children are watching.
Media is highly
influential in most areas of life. From
the car we buy, to the toothpaste we use, media has immersed itself in our
lives. It is no different with driving. We see today commercials that show cars
driving extremely fast. In movies we see
The next
principle of driving psychology that Dr. James talks about is the primary
affective driving norms for the current generation. In this, Dr. James points out that in
driving, we are very territorial, dominating, and completive. He says that in today’s society that we
pardon intolerance according to the needs of other drivers, and that we support
seeking revenge. He also explains that
we as a society accept risky driving and spontaneity. He continues by saying that we turn out eyes
from aggressive behavior, disrespect, and hostility.
Anyone who has
eyes can see that this is the truth today in our society. It doesn’t get much
clearer then that, that we have a major problem on our hands. These affective norms are obviously not
positive, and they are extremely unsociable.
We as a society can help make a difference though. If we start making these negative norms
distasteful, and start to make the positive norms appealing, then we might be
able to increase the good and decrease the bad behaviors and make our roads
safe for all of us.
An additional
main belief to driving is that the key cognitive driving norms deal with a lack
of emotional intelligence from the driver which is very important in
driving. Secondly, an inaccurate risk
assessment, which is seen everywhere (TV, internet, and statistics). Next is not taking responsibility for driving
incidents and not being able to see them objectively. And finally, an important
cognitive driving norm of this generation is a that there is very little moral
involvement, and a high rate of self centeredness.
A solution is
available according to Dr. James, who suggest that we teach some of the
techniques already discussed, such as self training and self improvement to
these drivers so that we can help them make accurate and adequate norms on the
cognitive level. This way, drivers would
be able to handle their risk more accurately and be able to control their own
emotional behavior.
The next level of course is the
sensorimotor level. The driving norms
for this level deals with habits are automatic, which is essentially stating
that the driver is completely unaware of their risk to society as well as their
driving style. The next one is that
drivers make perception errors regarding things like distance, speed and so
on. The next one in the sensorimotor
level is that the driver drifts, in other words, the driver’s attention is not
fully there because the driver is either tired, on drugs, or just not very well
educated and trained when it comes to driving.
Dr. James recommends that drivers who
are stuck in these norms participate in lifelong driver self improvement
exercises. This would help these drivers
have more competent habits, and to reach norms on the sensorimotor level that
are more adequate and mature.
Fortunately, we as a society in this
culture have the power to change various driving behaviors and techniques. If we help increase the rewards for good
driving behaviors, and help decrease the rewards, and become intolerant of
negative driving behaviors, then we will be able to get somewhere. A good place to start changing individually
is by using the drivers personality make over. In that, the driver would need to recognize
that driving isn’t just made up of one part, but of many. Each of those parts can be changed and
transformed with a little work.
An additional principle of driving
psychology is Quality Driving Circles (QDC).
These are informal groups that try positively influence change in the
way its members drive and it is highly influenced by the principles of driving
psychology. Researchers have found that
there is generally a high resistance to change regarding limitations and laws –
except for in groups. Theses groups
would be a place that people could safely discuss and support one another on
changing some of the negative habits they have.
Obviously, times have changed and so
have the cars we drive, along with the technology that is out there today. It can sometimes be a nightmare adjusting to
all the new features and distractions that technology brings along with it,
such as; radio dials, maps on the screen in your car, DVD players, using and
talking on the phone, in addition, eating, drinking, and keeping a schedule. To deal with this daunting task, it is
important that we seek life long driver’s education in the QDC. This way, the QDC’s can keep us up to date
with all the new skills that drivers need to know.
Training is essential in not only self
assessment (since most of the time we are subjective), but also in risk taking
(since we all take them), error recovery (since we all make them), and
emotional control (since we all lose it) under emergency or frustrating conditions. This happens only through detailed
training.
Two fields in psychology that I feel
most relate to driving psychology are social psychology, and learning and
behavioral psychology. I did one of my
outlines on driver’s identities, and it really struck me how much people view
driving as a solo activity. We
definitely live in a society that is overwhelmed with individuality, and so
apparently that floods over into the way we think about driving, and how we
actually drive.
Social psychology deals with many
things. For example, attitudes and
social cognition, advertising, social influence, social control, pro social
behavior, conflict resolution, social identity, and group behavior. I could probably write an entire book on how
these two topics relate, but I will try to be brief. In driving psychology we deal with the attitudes
about driving, the way we think socially about driving, how we are influenced
by society in driving, and how we as a society can control driving
behavior. These all very much have to do
with each other.
Continuing on, it is imperative that we
have a pro social behavior while driving so that we aren’t anti-social, and
that we realize that driving is not an individual activity, but that it affects
society as a whole. Driving behavior
greatly deals with how to resolve the conflict of bad driving as well as the
many deaths on the road. Identity goes
completely hand in hand with driving involving honor codes and moral
responsibility; this also has to do with group behavior.
Learning and behavioral psychology
teach about how we learn, who we learn from, why we learn, and how our behavior
is a product from what we have learned.
This is obviously connected to driving psychology because we learn at a
young age from our parents, and we behave in a manner while driving because of
what we have learned.
I believe that driving psychology is
not mentioned or taught within the other fields of psychology because people
are apathetic, and they don’t think that it is important. I think that it isn’t that they are highly educated
on the subject and still don’t think it is important, but I think that it is
because of a lack of education on the subject.
There is so much to learn about regarding this topic, and so often people
just say things without being aware of everything. I think the key here is education, and
getting the word out there about driving psychology. Then more people might implement it.
Section C: Three Domains of Driving
Behavior
In this section I am going to be summarizing the phrase, “three domains”
in the lecture notes found on at: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/409a-g25-lecture-notes.htm. I will also be talking about how they relate
to other aspects of psychology and how they help me understand my own behavior
in everyday life.
The first occurrence of the term “three domains” is found in the first
paragraph of the lecture note. It is
discussing the drivers threefold self which contains the affective (our
feelings and emotions), the cognitive (our thoughts), and the sensorimotor (our
behaviors and actions). This relates to
other aspects of psychology in that the feelings and emotions play a huge role
in what we think, and ultimately in how we act out those feelings an
emotions. The three fold self is a
product of morality, rationality, biology, culture, and socialization.
So it relates to biopsychology (another field of psychology) in regards
that our thoughts interact with our biological nature. This helps me understand my own behavior in
my everyday life because I think that it is imperative that we understand that
we are not just a product of one thing, but of many different forces in and
outside of us.
The second occurrence of the term “three domains” is found within the
same section, but the focus of the paragraph it is talking about is on the
influence of the media, parents, magazines, TV, and commercials. It says that by the time we reach out
adolescence, we have already been exposed to aggression in all three
domains. For example, in the affective
self, we have been exposed to hostile feelings.
In the cognitive self, we have been exposed to biased thoughts, and in
the sensorimotor self, we have been exposed to aggressive actions.
This relates to the field of learning psychology in that it shows that
we are continually and constantly being bombarded with information that we are
not even aware that we are taking it.
That is exactly what happens to us if we are not aware of our parents and
the media’s influence on our driving. This helps me become more aware of what
influences me in my every day life.
The third occurrence of the term “three domains” is found in the title
for table one. The table shows the three
domains and the skills and errors you can make in each section. The skills are the good thing you do while
driving, and the errors are obviously the errors you make while driving. This relates to other fields of psychology
because people always will make mistakes and do good things, the trick is being
able to learn to recognize how to do more good things then mistakes.
I can relate this to my everyday life, because just like everyone else I
am human and not perfect. I need to
learn from my mistakes and attempt to modify my behavior so that I can make
less mistakes.
The fourth occurrence of the term “three domains” is found in the list
of basic principles of driving psychology.
The sentence states that driving norms exist in the three domains of the
affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor.
This relates to other areas of psychology because it just shows that
nothing stands alone, but everything interconnects with one another. I can apply this to my everyday life by
becoming aware the connections that different areas have in my life.
The fifth and final occurrence of the term “three domains” is found in
the same list of basic principles of driving psychology down in number
seven. It states that driving is a habit
in three domains and that they can be changed if we as a society weaken the
negative norms and strengthens the positive norms. It also states that because it is exists in
three domains, they can all be measured and improved on a long term basis.
This relates to other fields of psychology in that we are always looking
for ways to improve ourselves and the world which can always be done with a
little change. This relates to my
everyday life, because I too need to realist that I can improve my negative
behavior.
Section D: Student Generational Reports on
Driving Psychology
1) Report done by: Tiffany Bumanglag
Link: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2006/bumanglag/bumanglag-409a-g24-report1.htm
Summary:
Ms. Bumanglag in the first section discusses the driving psychology
theory and charts that can be found in the lecture notes. She says that table 1 discusses the three
fold self and the skills (which are the positive things you can do) as well as
the errors, (which are the negative things you can do). She also summarizes table 2 by telling the
reader that it is the taxonomy of driving behavior, and that there are 18
behavioral zones. Table number 3 is
about how to not be an aggressive driver, and how to become a supportive
driver. Table number 4 is about the AWM
approach.
Next, Ms. Bumanglag discusses what she believes are the main principles
of driving psychology. She states that
they are the emotional intelligence of driving personality skills, the drivers
three fold self (affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor), and the connection
between children and road rage (children model parents behavior).
Within the next section, Ms. Bumanglag defines and gives details on the
three domains of driving, which I have already discussed in detail above, but
they are the affective, the cognitive, and the sensorimotor.
Ms. Bumanglag reports on previous generations reports. On the first report that she summarized, she
talked about how the author of that report did a self modification experiment
about how to not get mad at other drivers if they cut her off. The author said that there had been
improvement.
The second report Ms. Bumanglag wrote about, she didn’t agree with the
persons opinions about an emotionally intelligent driver. Ms. Bumanglag state that she thinks that the
author of that report is an aggressive driver.
The next thing that Ms. Bumanglag did was a self experiment, in order to
try to alleviate her speeding. She
worked on leaving early and found that she didn’t get as frustrated.
Finally, Ms. Bumanglag gives advice to future generations and says that future
students need to read directions and that they should take what they learn from
this class and go and teach other friends and family about it. She also recommends writing and good report
and says that she suggests looking at other reports prior to doing your own so
that you get a good idea about what might be expected regarding format.
2) Report done by: Kristen Masuoka
Link: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/masuoka/masuoka-409a-g23-report2.htm
Summary:
Ms. Masuoka answered questions 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 for her report.
For question 2, Ms. Masuoka gave a brief review on both of the text in
this class which are, Road Rage and
Aggressive Driving (James and Nahl) and Driving
Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer (Peter Rothe, Editor). She then selected one chapter from each book
and gave a summary of it. Ms. Masuoka chooses
to do chapter 6 in each text. She
commented that she preferred the road rage book to the driving lessons book,
but stated that she found them both helpful and rewarding in trying to decrease
road rage.
For question 3, Ms. Masuoka compared the two websites www.drdriving.com to www.drivers.com and summarized the main
differences in information given as well as the content and quality of the
site. Ms. Masuoka stated that she
preferred www.drdriving.com to www.drivers.com because she said it was a
higher quality driving site, and it was more useful to her as a driver.
For question 4, Ms. Masuoka summarized three students’ reports, and
explained what why presented and what she learned from their reports. They presented on the emotional spin cycle,
and Ms. Masuoka says that she never thought of that as modification techniques,
but now she does.
For question 5, Ms. Masuoka focused on table 5 and read the article that
went along with it. She then copied and
pasted the table into her report. She
then deleted all the cells in the table and filled them with her own
examples. She discussed why driving is
such a huge problem and then Dr. James’s solutions.
For question 7,
Ms. Masuoka she did the various exercises that are found in Dr. James’s Road
Rage book. She did “How
Passenger-Friendly Are You” (p. 184-5), “Witnessing Your Aggressive Driving”
(p. 140-3), “Your Road Rage Tendency” (p. 40-42), and “Your Verbal Road Rage
Tendency” (p. 91).
She discovered
that she was not a very friendly driver towards her passengers, and how
dangerous and aggressive she is on the road, and how much she verbalizes her
aggression while on the road.
She then did
summaries on the past generation reports, and then gave advice to the future
generation saying that don’t procrastinate, follow all directions, and to not
get overwhelmed with the work load.
3) Report done by: Amy Beeler
Link: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2005/beeler/409a-g22-report2.htm
Summary:
Ms. Beeler did her report and answered questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7
For question 1 Ms. Beeler described the three domains and levels of a
driver in the nine cells, and then she proceeded to fill each of those cells
with her own driving behaviors and skills from the affective, cognitive, and
sensorimotor. She was then able to
create a driver personality makeover plan from all her information. She later discusses the problems that she
sees in accomplishing her goal in order to modify her behavior. She then comments that she thinks that even
‘good’ drivers can use the driver personality makeover plan because everyone
has room for improvement.
For question 2 Ms. Beeler briefly summarizes the two books, Road Rage,
and Driving Lessons, and then she gives a summary of a specific chapter within
that book. She tells why she thinks that
these books are effective in teaching her that it is important to be a good
role model for little children. She also
states that the two books are really good compliments of each other and that
they fill in the gaps that the other book leaves.
For question 3 Ms. Beeler looked at www.drdriving.com
and www.drivers.com and compared them and
found what is different. She discovers
that the differences in the sites occur through the articles, newsletters,
audience, style, public relations policy for the most part. She concluded that she would most likely use www.drdriving.com over the other one
because of its credibility.
For question 4 Ms. Beeler summarized the reports done by six different
students on various different reports.
She was to choose two students who did report one, two students who did
report two and two students who did report three. You can find all her summaries on the link
located above. She concluded that she
agreed with all the students whose report she summarized, and that she feels
like she enjoyed this part of the report because she found other students who
agree with her.
For question 7 Ms. Beeler did the exercises in the book. She
did “Self Assessment” (p. 134), “Identifying assumptions” (p. 131), “Negative
vs. Positive driving” (p. 122). She
discovered that she always got frustrated with people who tailgated her, but
that she always let people in her lane and waved at them. She said that overall these exercises helped
her to become more aware of her negative habits and now she knows that she can
work on them and improve.
She did her
report on the current generation, and then gave her advice to future generations
just like the rest of the reports I have already commented on.
4) Report done by: Ryde Azama
Link: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409af2004/azama/409a-g21-report2.htm
Summary:
Mr. Azama did his report on questions 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
For question 3 Mr. Azama he compared the two websites just like the
other students. The websites were www.drdriving.com and www.drivers.com. He rated these on content, general purpose
and ranking. He says that both websites
are excellent but that the driver’s website is more main stream and that the
drdriving website is full of a wealth of knowledge.
For question 4 Mr. Azama analyzed and summarized six different
reports. He had to choose two students
from report one, two students from report two and two students from report
three. He said that all the ideas were
generally the same and that the drivers did want to change their
behaviors. The reports that he
summarized all said that they believe that life long driver’s education is the
key to changing long term. Mr. Azama agreed
with them.
For question 5 Mr. Azama copied down table five that discusses emotional
intelligence in drivers. He took and
deleted all the cells and then he replaced them with what he wanted. He said that it is good idea, but that he
doesn’t think ideas like this will ever come to fruition because people are
lazy and don’t think that they need help, or that they need to change.
For question 6 Mr. Azama he analyzed the student new groups report
regarding the three domains. They were
supposed to find ten quotes and analyze each one which will show the character
of their three fold self. Then Mr. Azama
is supposed to comment on the information that he has gained through the
driving psychology class. It was very
interesting to see his points and his comments regarding what others
wrote.
For question 7 Mr. Azama did the various exercises from the road rage
book. They are the exercise on scenario analysis
on p. 205, exercise on acting as-if on p.128, exercise on self-assessment on p.
134, checklist of your road rage tendency on p. 40. He said that all of these exercise were very
helpful to him because he now can visualize all the things that he has learned
because he has experienced them
Mr. Azama did give advice to future generations, and he said that he
first only took this class because it fit into his schedule, but then he was very
happy that he did because he said he really learned a lot, and was changed as a
driver.
5) Report done by: Sayo Yoshino
Link: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/sayo/report1.htm
Summary:
Ms. Yoshino starts off her paper by saying that she is very excited to
be in this class, and she is surprised that Dr. James research is so through
and that she is impressed with the prior generation’s research and depth and
understanding on the topic of driving psychology. One thing that surprised me about Ms. Yoshino
is that she is not a driver yet. I think
that that is very good because now she can get a good understanding of the
psychology of driving prior to actually getting on the road.
She then continues on her report to summarize three previous
generational reports. She also comments
on all of them. They are about the AWM
approach and other various things that have already been discussed in detail
throughout this paper.
Ms. Yoshino then goes ahead and gives ten definitions which include
things like the drivers three fold self, self- modification techniques, road
rage, aggressive driving, emotional intelligence, emotional spin cycles, life
long drivers education, tee cards and so on.
She then gives an autobiographical summary on herself and draws
everything to a conclusion and proceeds to give advice to future generations.
Conclusion:
This type of learning behavior is useful because it is repetitive. Other then that, I really don’t enjoy it, and
I think that it is unnecessary to do it over and over and over, for five
times. I think that two or three times
is enough, and that it starts to become very bland and old after a while. It is really boring in fact. I found myself not really having any
motivation to summarize the last few reports.
Section E: My Driving Personality Makeover
Field Experiment
In this section I am going to design a driving personality makeover for
myself regarding my frustration with other drivers going slow when I am in a
rush and want to speed on the road. In order to modify this behavior, I choose
to do the A (acknowledge) W (witness) and M (modify) (AWM approach) in order
eliminate this negative behavior and feelings.
The first step in this self-modification of behavior is to acknowledge
(A) that I have a problem, which I have already done since this is the behavior
I plan on modifying.
Believe it or not though, it took me a while to decide on something that
I would like to modify. It is not that I
think that I am a perfect driver and don’t need to modify anything in my
driving habits, it was just that I couldn’t pick out one thing. It was weird.
Regardless, the second step in this modification system is to witness
(W) my self doing the action. I choose
to witness myself for one solid week in order to get a good idea about what
happens before and after my frustration, and see if it is the same every
time. During the first day, I really had
to remain conscious of what I was doing.
I needed to really pay attention regarding my frustration and the speed
of my vehicle.
One the first day, I seemed to keep forgetting that I was trying to
modify my speeding and frustration behavior.
I think that it was hard to remember because it is such an ingrained
habit, that I sometimes don’t even know that I am doing it. After the first day, when I forgot a lot, I
decided to write myself a little note, and put that sticky note on my dash
board, in order to remind myself that I was trying to modify my behavior.
The next few days went very successful in witnessing my negative habit,
and I think I caught myself every single time (I think) that I began to get
frustrated with other drivers while I was speeding.
I noticed that I tended to speed when I was late, or when it was really
hot outside (because I don’t have air conditioning in my car, driving is not
always pleasant). I noticed that when
these conditions happened and I got behind a slower car I was really frustrated
at them for not hurrying up and going faster.
I felt like they should notice that I am coming up from behind them, and
that they should be courteous enough to move.
Obviously, this attitude is not correct, so my next step after (A)
acknowledging and (W) witnessing is (M) modifying. I think because I gave myself a week to
witness my behavior, I became more then aware that I really had a problem and
that I really needed to slow down and not blame the fact that I am late and
rushed and frustrated on other drivers.
I need to take responsibility for it myself.
Since I found that I was speeding and frustrated when I was late, I
really worked on leaving on time for everything, if not earlier. I found that when I did this, which was 6 out
of the 7 times during the week, I was more calm and relaxed and didn’t feel
near as rushed. Because of those
feelings, I didn’t need to speed because I wasn’t late, and I was getting
frustrated at other drivers because I was just cruising. It made driving a lot better for me. The only thing that made me feel like
speeding and getting to my destination quicker was if it was a hot day and I
was sweating in my car.
I also changed for the most in getting frustrated with other
drivers. I realized that it is silly to
get mad at other drivers when they really have nothing to do with it. It is a waste of my time, so I have just
decided to take responsibility for leaving late, and leave the other drivers
out of it.
I realize that just because I did this experiment for a week, I am not
necessarily changed for good. Driving
and the behaviors and habits that go along with it are never set in stone, and
they constantly and continually need to be worked on and modified. Driving is a lifelong learning experience,
and one that we must submit ourselves to.
From this experiment I discovered that the AWM approach is very
effective if the person is willing to change. I found out that it is important
to do all three steps, because if not, all the other steps were fairly
ineffective.
I highly recommend this experience for everyone. Everyone has something that they can work on,
and that can be changed and modified.
Imagine if everyone did this and was successful at it. The road and the drivers would be completely
changed and transformed.
Section F: Advice to Future Generations
Throughout this semester so far, I have learned a lot. To begin, I’ve learned that the deaths and
injuries while on the road each year is an enormous number. There are hundreds of thousands of people who
die each year on the road. That is more
lives then September 11th, and the current
During this course, I have learned a variety of aspects of driving
psychology and road rage. For example, I
have understood the three-fold self of the drivers personality, what areas and aspects
of life influences people’s behaviors on the road, the numerous views people
have on driving behavior, as well as various interventions (successful and
unsuccessful) that can be used in order to modify the dangerous, negative
behaviors. All these characteristics of
driving psychology play a vary important part in understanding and grasping the
entire concept in its entirety.
The driver’s three-fold self contains the affective, cognitive, and
sensorimotor aspects. No driver just
contains one of these three areas; each driver contains all three, and it is
important to recognize which one is at work while you are driving. The affective piece of the driver is
responsible for the emotions and feelings one feels while behind the
wheel. An example of this is when the
driver feels hostile feelings or the opposite being feeling happy. Regardless, whether good or bad, this is the
affective self.
The cognitive self of a driver is in charge of the reasoning and
thinking behind the wheel. This is more
the brain part of the driver. It has to
do with anything you think in your head.
The sensorimotor self deals with the sensations, perceptions, and actual
actions we take while driving. An
example of this is cutting someone else off, or on contrary letting someone
in. Recognizing that the driver is not
just one part, but broken into many aspects is crucial in understanding how to
modify ones behavior.
There are various times and places as well as things that can influence
a persons’ driving behavior on the road.
Learning about driving starts when you are an child by watching your
parents drive. You sometimes
unconsciously or consciously hang onto the actions that your parents did on the
road and you take them to be your own actions when you are eventually able to
drive. Learning can also come from your
peers, when you drive with them.
A huge influence on driving behavior today is the media. Whether it is movies, TV shows, commercials,
or video games, they all have a huge impact on today’s society and the way we
all drive. Car commercials showing cars
that are zipping through curvy roads at high speeds, movies displaying
influential people driving horribly and with no regard to the law or other
peoples lives, and video games making driving just that; a game. All of these create and message and an
environment that tells everyone that bad driving is not only acceptable but
commended and respected in our society.
Unfortunately, driving in the
Changing the mindset from individuality to society is an important step
because it allows researchers to use things such as honor codes (norms that are
established in order to maintain ones identity to a particular group) and
drivers identities (associating how, what, and why you drive to being part of
your identity) to intervene and actually change the behaviors. Various organizations have been successful in
doing this, most famously, MADD.
Interventions in driving psychology are imperative in order to see any
positive results. There are numerous
methods that have been implemented through the years; not all have been
successful. Some successful
interventions include the AWM theory that basically states that if you would
like to change a behavior, you must first A) acknowledge that you have a
problem, W (witness yourself doing this problem, and M) modify your behavior. This will most likely decrease the negative,
bad behavior, and is a very good start to changing your entire driving
personality.
Other inventions include Life Long Driver’s Education (teach and remind
self of driving principles) and Quality Driving Circles (a group of people that
would meet to discuss various driving issues and problems). These are some of the more difficult ones in
my opinion, because it would be hard to get people to participate.
An intervention that people have tried in the past, is switching the flow
of traffic so that drivers start to drive on the opposite side of the road that
they are used to driving on. By having
to readjust their behaviors and thinking, they become more conscious of their
actions because they are not in a comfortable, normal environment. This has been shown to be successful within
the first 2 or 3 years, but they have found that this solution is not long-term.
Everything I have learned has completely benefited and transformed the
way I view driving and all of its entities.
It has not only helped me personally, but it has also given me an
insight that I can share with others, especially those that are close to
me. I have been able to modify and
witness my behaviors as well as realize that my identity is closely tied to my
driving behavior, and that my driving behavior effects society as a whole.
None of these concepts have been difficult for me to accept, probably more
so because this is my second time taking the class and so I kind of have had
time to get used to all the various topics.
I remember taking the class the first time though, and I had a problem
with the concept that you create your own stress, and outside influences don’t
do it alone. I really disagreed with
that when I took the course for the first time.
I think that I would modify this course in only one way, and that is to
include more hands on stuff. I think
that it would be fun to do a driving simulator, and although they are not that
accurate, they can be used to show why those aren’t good research tools. I think that the oral part of the Driving
Psychology class is very important, because being able to speak in front of
people (including your peers) is something that we will use throughout life.
To all the future generations of this course. My advice to you would be to not
procrastinate, and to start the work of this course early on in the
semester. I realize that this is easier
said than done, as I told myself the exact same thing at the beginning of the
semester, and now I am kicking myself because I didn’t listen. Start on the Report #1 early especially
because it takes a very long time to complete.
I would definitely recommend that you don’t do this whole report in one
sitting, but that you space it out over a period of time.
I also advise that you don’t get overwhelmed. Everyone can pass this course with an A with
a little effort. It is not hard to get
an A, because all that it requires is that you go to class and do the
work. It is very easy to become
overwhelmed at the beginning of the semester, once you see the syllabus, but my
advice to you is to not become discouraged.
The syllabus might be forever long, but once you read through it a few
times, you start to get a grasp about what the course is all about, and it
begins to appear tangible.
This course uses the internet a lot, and it can sometimes be
overwhelming trying to figure out how to upload you pages, make your links work,
save your documents as a webpage, and so on.
I know that I had to learn it, but the great thing about this course is
that Dr. James gives very detailed and specific instructions, and they are for
the most part, very easy to follow. I
suggest reading all his instructions thoroughly, and if you need additional
help, I suggest finding a class mate who knows what they are doing.
You will benefit greatly from completing all the work that is required
of you. Just like the saying goes, “you
will get out of it, what you put in”. I
believe that is true for this course. If
you want to change your behavior, and contribute to society as a whole, it is
imperative to do the work in the class so that you can gain an understanding
about what needs to be done and what you can do about it. Besides that, you will most likely receive an
A for all your hard work, as well as leave the class changed. I know that I have personally benefited greatly
from this course.
Section G: Links
My Home
Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/trujillo/trujillo-home.htm
G25 Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm