Report 2:
My Report on Driving Psychology
By Jessica Trujillo
Instructions for this report is at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/409a-g23-report2.htm
I am answering Questions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6
Dr.
Leon James,
December 2006
My
report on previous generations:
How do
their reports differ from your report? How is the theory or content similar?
How do you evaluate their level of understanding of driving psychology? What
advice do you have about the generational curriculum?
Reports Choosen:
Student #1 - http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/kikuchi/report%202.htm
Student #2 – http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/fukushima/report1.htm
Student #3 – http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/corpuz/report1.htm
Student #4 – http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/kubo/report1.htm
(a)How do
their reports differ from your report?
These students’ reports differ from mine in that a
lot of them physically look different then mine. This includes the fact that some of their
papers aren’t very easy to read because the format is really weird. Also, I am not sure if they had the rule
about the 7 lines in a paragraph, because many of them were really really
wordy. I thought that they were hard to
read.
(b) How is
the theory or content similar?
The content of these reports is similar in that
they report on some of the same things such as the AWM approach; the drivers
three fold self, the emotional intelligence, and various other things. The theory is similar because we were taught
by the same teacher, and possibly even the same book.
(c) How do
you evaluate their level of understanding of driving psychology?
The reports show that the students are not
consistent. Some of them show great understanding about the topics, while
others are very general and broad, not being to specific, which makes me wonder
if they even know what they are talking about.
(d) What
advice do you have about the generational curriculum?
Generational curriculum helps and doesn’t in my
opinion. I think that it helps because
it is good to know that other people have studied the same thing you have, and
they can possibly come up with more information that you would have never
discovered, but in the same breath I think that it can be very bland, dull and
monotonous. So I have mixed feelings
about it all.
The Question I am answering is Question 1:
(a)Contrast
our two textbooks: Road Rage and
Aggressive Driving (James and Nahl), and Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer
(Peter Rothe, Editor). Name some ways they are similar, and some ways they are
different. Would either text be suitable for high school students? (b) Discuss
in what way these ideas can help solve society's driving problems. Be specific:
describe the main problems (use some statistics) and how can particular ideas
in these two books help solve those problems.(c) Describe the reactions of
friends when you tell them about driving personality makeovers and its
psychological and social context.
(a)
Contrast our two textbooks: Road Rage and Aggressive Driving (James and
Nahl), and Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer
(Peter Rothe, Editor).
Within the course of Driving Psychology we have read two great books
that enhance out learning and our knowledge in the field of driving
psychology. First, I would like to
summarize each book and then I will continue to contrast them, by explaining
the ways in which they are similar and different.
Road Rage and Aggressive Driving by Dr. James is a very informative book
that goes in depth into the world of driving and the many different facets of
driving. The book starts off talking
about how Dr. James even got involved with driving psychology, by telling his
story. I think that this aspect really
helps the readers to connect to him.
The book is then divided into three sections; The Conflict Mentality,
Driving Psychology, and The Future of Driving.
In the Conflict Mentality section, there are many things that are
discussed. To begin, he discusses a phenomenon
that has to do with rage. There are many
kinds of rage, such as road rage, shopping mall rage, and parking lot
rage. He states that we are in a culture
of rage, and the rage truly crosses the lines of culture. Then he relates road rage to aggressive
driving and discusses with the readers what aggressive driving is, and how one
can realize whether or not they are an aggressive driver. He also gives some brief advice on how to
protect you from the aggressive drivers on the road.
Dr. James places some check lists throughout the book that ask questions that will get you
thinking about weather or not you have a tendency to be aggressive and have
road rage. They are basically self
realization reports.
Through the book, Dr. James talks about aggressive driving and how it
can affect health. He guides the
reader’s attention to drivers on TV and in video games and how that can
influence everyday life. He discusses
differences in genders and why driving makes us as humans so angry. He gives advice on how to control your
emotions while behind the wheel. He goes
into what can cause road rage on the highway including but not limited to
traffic, the unpredictability of the other drivers, and how action such as
venting can be harmful to ones health.
Dr. James talks about various types of drivers which include
passive-aggressive, verbal rage, epic road rage, rushing and competitive
drivers. He offers checklists to help
the reader understand themselves better.
These checklists are very helpful, and useful in order to change.
He goes into emotional intelligence of the driver and gives a three step
driver self improvement program which includes acknowledging, witnessing, and
modifying the driver behavior (also known as the AWM approach). He talks about children and road rage, saying
how they are learning how to drive even from childhood, and offers advice on
how to make them supportive drivers when then can get behind the wheel.
He talks about supportive driving, and the steps and benefits of
becoming a supportive driver, as well as to always have lifelong driver’s
education. He also covers the future of
driving including the presence of legislation in driving as well as police and
speed traps and whether they are effective.
He discusses the influence of music, food and cell phones in the driving
world.
Overall this book is a great resource that is full of information that
can help people recognize bad habits and give those sources and guidelines on
how to change and become a supportive driver.
It gives a clear depiction of the many different sides of driving
including the cognitive, affective, and sensorimotor.
Now I will discuss our other text used in
Driving Psychology, and that is a book titled Driving Lessons: Exploring
Systems That Make Traffic Safer by Peter Rothe. It is also a great book that essentially
discusses three subsystems; personal, institutional and technical
subsystems. Throughout the book he uses
many published authors to make up his chapters, which I think is a really good
idea, because it is not just information coming from one person, but you get
various people’s opinions and ideas.
To begin, the personal subsystems sections, the book talks about how the
brain mechanisms can be involved in the driving task, but the author stresses
the point that traffic behavior must be seen as a systemic product rather then
a product of individual behavior. This is a really important point to stress
because so often we think that driving is only a solo activity, but it actually
an activity that involves the cooperation of everyone.
The book also goes into detail discussing factors that are considered
stressors and how we as drivers can learn to deal with them instead of becoming
more aggressive because of these factors.
The book goes into discusses the affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor
aspects of driving, which is part of Dr. James’ theory of driving psychology.
Within the personal sub-system section it continues to discuss the
innovations in injury control, in that, it talks about how crashes not only
affect the individual but they also affect the community. This relates to another topic that is
presented which is how family and friends can influence the risks one takes
while driving. We all know that this is
true, as we are so influenced by our family and friends in our everyday lives.
The previous section also discusses the differences in rural versus
urban driving which is extremely interesting.
It concludes this section with the identities of drivers at certain
ages; discussing the children, teens, adults, and elderly. It discusses that we find our identities in
our car, how we drive, and eventually the fact that we don’t get to drive
anymore when we get old. This section
was extremely interesting to me, and it really opened my eyes to things that I
never noticed before.
The next section is the institutional subsystem section is covers things
such as the interaction between driver and the dispatchers and the sides of
both. Both of them struggle to see each
others side. The dispatcher is all about
the profit and getting the product at the specified destination as soon as
possible. The trucker on the other hand
needs to follow the laws of the road and follow the speed limits yet needs to
drive on little to no sleep to meet the deadlines. The author presents this topic with a lot of
information and it is very interesting.
The institutional subsystem section also contains information on why
MADD is involved in court monitoring and the effects it plays on cases where
there is an impaired driver. According
to the book, they have found that court monitoring increase the likelihood of
convictions, decreases the likelihood of dismissals and for repeat offenders
will lengthen the jail sentences. The
author also outlines what is contained in an effective court monitoring system.
This section continues to talk about how driving isn’t only affecting
the driver, but also the work place and the community. Later on the word ‘skills’ is defined and it
about the skills of the driver and a model of different types of skills is
presented. An interesting idea of
presenting traffic safety in public schools is also presented in this
section. Overall this book has great
information and can be very valuable to anyone who would like to learn about a
wide range of information regarding driving.
The technical subsystem goes into detail about things like geographic
information systems, and system design for roads. It talks about how GIS can and will be used
for mapping out hazardous areas on the roads so that drivers can avoid those
specific areas. This sections also talks
about how they have done studies on cell phone usage, and whether or not it is
just as bad as driving under the influence.
They found that many factors can play into it, and it isn’t just the
physical act of talking on the phone.
This section continues to talk about things like red light cameras and
whether or not they are beneficial or harmful.
Then it concludes with where driving psychology and studies are
headed.
This book is full of information that is useful to many different types
of people. I think that he brings in a
lot of different topics from various different perspectives, and they all
become beneficial to everyone.
(1) Name some ways they
are similar, and some ways they are different.
Now I will discuss how both of the books are similar, as well as how
they vary from one another. These books
are similar in that both authors have a heart to see change in the driving
community. This is obvious in that they
include many different perspectives, statistics, and facts that help contribute
to a better understanding of driving and the many facets of it. They also include many of the same topics
within there books.
These books are different in that I think the focus is more direct in Road Rage because it doesn’t cover all
the various topics discussed in Driving
Lessons. I think that Driving Lessons is more about the
different systems in driving and broadly touches on each topic. I feel that Road Rage is more directed towards how we can make a difference in
the driving community by changing ourselves.
I think that the focus is more on the individual driver (being that that
is where the change begins).
I think that although these books have these similarities and
differences, they both complement one another very well.
(2) Would either text be
suitable for high school students?
I think that the information in these texts would be very suitable for
high school students, but as far as actually reading them is concerned, I think
that the Driving Lessons book is far
too difficult and complicated to read, especially if you don’t have background
knowledge of the topic of driving psychology.
As far as the Road Rage book
is concerned, I think that this book is very easy to read, and very easy to
understand, and would be completely appropriate for the high school age. I think that they would really enjoy the
checklists, and that they would be more willing to take driving seriously if
they knew what a huge issue it was. I
think that since statistically younger drivers are more prone to harming
themselves on the road, it is an essential book that they must read so that
they can change their driving behavior before they get too deep into the habits
that they are acquiring.
(b) Discuss in what way these ideas can help
solve society's driving problems. Be specific: describe the main problems (use
some statistics) and how can particular ideas in these two books help solve
those problems.
The ideas presented in these texts can be very helpful to society. There are so many people who are affected by
road rage and by others who are not emotionally intelligent. There are more people who die in a decade
(425,000) then who have died in all the wars combined. I think that that one statistic alone just
screams that we as a society need intervention.
We are in luck! This book not
only offers informative information, where we as society can grow and learn
from, but it also gives you tools to utilize in order to put into action what
you have been taught.
I think the checklists are a really neat idea, and I think that they are
fun, yet they show people what they are really like, in order that they might
change those habits. I think that this book would also be helpful
in government since they enact a lot of laws regarding driving. I think that they need to look at these books
and start taking driving seriously, and start implementing plans that will
encourage people to become supportive drivers.
I also think that driving is something that can be worked on through
your whole life, and this includes things like Life Long Driver’s Education and
Quality Driving Circles. I think that
they should start programs like these, and make them available to the public.
I also think that in those classes that would be offered to the public
they could teach the importance of the three-fold self and emotional
intelligence. I think that emotional
intelligence is a big part of the road rage incidents because people have no
idea what to do with all the emotions that come out of them. I think that is what results in the killings
and homicides in the road rage incidents.
(c) Describe the reactions of friends when you tell
them about driving personality makeovers and its psychological and social
context.
When describing driving
psychology concepts such as the driving personality makeover and its
psychological and social context, I find that my friend’s initial reaction is disbelief. They don’t think that the idea is very
logical and very attainable. When I
started going into detail, and was adamant about the fact that drivers can
change, and that change is necessary to save lives, they stopped and listened.
I think that when I
starting describing the drivers threefold self, they started understanding that
it isn’t just one area in a person, but it is made up of three, which are the
affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor.
These aspects can be worked on through a driver’s self-modification
program, as well as life long driver’s education. If we start changing individually, slowly,
the society will change as a whole.
My friends started to
understand what I meant and they began to see the importance of the driving
personality makeover, and the psychological and social context. I think they started to value what I had to
say.
The
Question I am answering is Question 2:
(a) Search Google News section, for "road rage." Describe what
you see. Is it a general phenomenon? How do you react? (b) How do you explain
what's going on -- using driving psychology theory. Connect what you found in
the news with the problems and solutions you discuss in Question 1. (c) Tell
your friends about what you found. Describe their reaction.
(a) Search Google News
section, for "road rage." Describe what you see. Is it a general
phenomenon? How do you react?
While searching Google News, I came across a few news articles that I
would like to share with you. First, I
read an article that talked about a man that stabbed another man because he was
parked on a narrow street and what blocking the flow of traffic. The convicted man was convicted of voluntary
manslaughter and sentenced to 8-10 years in prison. He fled arrest and then was eventually
found. This took place in the
The second story that I read took place in
The third story is about a driving instructor who experienced road
rage. This story took place in the
He then proceeded to call the cops.
The sad thing is that the instructor looking in his rearview mirror and the
driver who was enraged had a little six year old in the back seat who was
watching the whole thing. This just goes
to show that we are learning how to drive and react even at a young age. This little girl has a bad model to
follow.
Now, I would like to discuss whether or not I believe that road rage is
a general phenomenon. I would have to
say that I think that it is obvious and clear that according the above episodes
of road rage, which take place in various parts of the world that road rage, is
indeed a phenomenon.
I do not think that all these people would all do these in the different
places of the world if it was not a phenomenon.
I do however, not think that this is a new trend, but I think that it is
slowly and slowly getting more exposed.
I think that it is really beneficial the more it becomes exposed because
then one would hope that there would be change in the society.
I react to this Google News and everything that I found by becoming a
little depressed. I think that it is
sad that we live in a culture of rage, where so many people are
individualistic, and don’t remember to think of anyone else first. I also think that it just proves the severity
of teaching emotional intelligence and driving psychology to everyone world
wide so that we can start making some changes and saving lives.
(b) How do you explain
what's going on -- using driving psychology theory. Connect what you found in
the news with the problems and solutions you discuss in Question 1.
The only way I can explain what is going on is that we live in a world
that believes that driving is a solo activity.
People don’t consider that driving is NOT an activity that only affects
you. The way people drive effects the
society as a whole. Once people start
realizing that, they can use the AWM approach.
This includes, acknowledging, witnessing, and modifying your
behavior. If everyone took up this
approach we would be in a lot better shape.
I also notice that worldwide we are very territorial. I thought that this was the case only in the
I think that another solution, which I have stated above earlier in
Question 1, I that I think that these books should have to have been read and
maybe a test taken before one can receive a driver’s license. I think that if people read these books
before they got on the road as a young driver, they might be more emotionally
intelligent. I also think that there
should be a follow up with people, and that every 5 years they have to renew
their license, they would again have to read the book and take the quiz.
Although, as a driver I think that this would be annoying in a way, I
think that it will save peoples lives. I
think that another great solution to help people not kill others on the road is
to get them into Quality Driving Circles, where they can ‘vent’ there. I think that people, again, don’t know what
do to with their emotions, and so they take it out on others and kill one
another.
(c) Tell your friends
about what you found. Describe their reaction.
When I began telling my husband what I had found on Google, he was like
WOW! He could not believe that there
where people who killed over driving incidents.
He has heard me talk a lot about this class before, and was always very
hesitant to agree that road rage is a huge issue, but after letting him read
these articles himself, he was speechless.
He had no idea that people actually do things like this.
We continued to look through Google News, and we found over 2,300
articles related to the topic. Many of
the incidents where road rage was mentioned did not end well. My husband and I were very shocked after
reading even more of the stories
I told my friend Rick, and at first he was essentially like “yeah right,
there is no way there are that many incidents of road rage. Then I took him to a computer, and I was
showing him the many RECENT stories.
And I said that this doesn’t even include what is not caught and
reported. I started telling him about
the solutions that I think could alleviate these problems and save lives.
After showing him everything he started changing his mind and starting
believing that road rage is very prevalent in not only our society, but
throughout the world. He started asking
me about the solutions again, and started even coming up with his own. It was very good to see the transformation in
him.
I think that if we start telling all our friends, they will eventually
understand what a huge deal road rage is, and how important it is to take steps
to solve the problems.
The
Question I am answering is Question 3:
(a) Select some student reports at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups
Discuss your reactions to what they did – their ideas, their method, and their
explanations. What did they gain from doing their reports? How do their ideas
influence what you yourself think about these issues? (b) Now go to Google
Groups search and type in "driving". See if you can corroborate the
conclusions of the student reports which were done several years ago. Is this
still going on the same way?
(a) Select some student
reports at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups
Discuss your reactions to what they did – their ideas, their method, and their
explanations.
Student Report #1- Cognitive Dissonance Release
Venue http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups2.html
My reaction- I didn’t feel that I
understood the reports, and what they were all about. There was no explanation or instruction link. I am unsure if they were required to do that
or not, but I think after looking at a few of them I got the point, kind
of. Regardless, I am going to do my best
in order to portray their ideas, methods, and explanations.
Their ideas, method, and
explanation- This person discussed things like motorcycle safety, meditation, big vehicle
avoidance, and many other articles. They
generally just gave opinions about what they thought was good or bad about that
the person did. They kind of related it
to driving psychology but avoided going into much detail or giving any history
regarding the concepts of driving psychology.
Their method was just to present the news article and summarize it. This person then decided to comment on the
article. That is about it. This person didn’t really give a further
explanation. I don’t think that I would
have been able to recognize that this person has taken the driving psychology
course by everything they wrote, or lack there of.
Their explanation that I have already briefly touched on was just that,
brief. Not in depth at all. I didn’t think that they had a full
understanding of all the concepts and theories of driving psychology, and if
they did, they were definitely not using their knowledge and presenting it
effectively. They essentially just
restated what the article was about and then proceeded to give their
opinion. It was pretty bland and
non-educational, in my opinion.
Student Report #2-Something
to Talk about- Long distance relationships
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups13.html
My reaction- I didn’t feel that I
understood the reports, and what they were all about. There was no explanation or instruction link. I am unsure if they were required to do that
or not, but I think after looking at a few of them I got the point, kind
of. Regardless, I am going to do my best
in order to portray their ideas, methods, and explanations. I did, however find out that this report was
far better then the other ones, and that I understood it a lot better.
Their ideas, method, and
explanation- I felt that already, by just glancing at the report, that this one was
put together 100 times better then the previous newsgroup report. I feel that this person explained their
purpose and the instructions briefly. I
felt very good about starting to read this page, because I didn’t feel lost,
and I felt that things would be explained to me the further and further I got
into the report.
The ideas presented in this new group report were about the four letter
word, LOVE! The author of the report
decided to do this because she wanted to know what people thought of the word,
and since she was in a long distance relationship, she wanted to hear others
opinions on the topic.
She discusses why people react and the benefits of being involved in
newsgroups, in which she states that she thinks it is because they have
something in common. She gave an example
by copy and pasting the conversation she held in the newsgroup chat room. They did all have a common thing. They were all in long distance relationships,
and they were able to tell their stories, and not feel so alone in their
situation. She also gives links to peoples
responses, but they didn’t work, because I think that the website no longer
exists.
She discusses how people react, saying that she feels that they use
their opinions and experiences to back them up, and to in a way justify their
reactions and answers to others questions.
She feels that she gained a lot from being involved in newsgroups, and
that she is glad that people express their opinions.
Student Report #3-
Attitude Driving Newsgroups
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newgroups71.html
My reaction- I didn’t feel that I
understood the reports, and what they were all about. There was no explanation or instruction link. I am unsure if they were required to do that
or not, but I think after looking at a few of them I got the point, kind
of. Regardless, I am going to do my best
in order to portray their ideas, methods, and explanations. I did, however, like this one, because it not
only gave the links to the articles within his report, but it also gave the
link to the instructions! Who would have
thought?
Their ideas, method, and explanation-
This person decided that they were going to do their report on various
different topics, including people’s attitudes towards road rage, and various
different road rage incidents. They talk
about pedestrians, speeding, driving when it is dark at night, and driving in
the dark.
Their method was mostly the same as the other reports, where they give
an excerpt of the course, and then go into explaining what they choose to
do. This person however made their
report nice because they gave links at the beginning of their report that you
could click on and then go that way. I
thought that that was a really good idea because sometimes you don’t really
want to scroll through a lot of reports.
This persons explanation was better then the first report. I felt that they really separated the fault
and brought in some points that they have learned from this class. I still didn’t find that they added a lot of
statistical information and hard facts, because the answers were still very
opinionated.
In one instance he was like, “who made him god of the roadways”. To me this phrase isn’t a refined aggressive
driver that is able to grasp fully the concepts of driving psychology. I think that this has hostile motives behind
it, and that he needs to use the A, W, M approach on himself. But, then again that is just my personal
opinion.
(b) What did they gain from doing their reports?
The students don’t talk directly on what they gained from their reports,
but I am sure that they gained a lot from it.
I guess it kind of depends on what the student’s learning style is, but
I am sure that this monotonous way of doing work drilled some interesting
information in.
I know for me, that I don’t gain a lot from doing monotonous, because it
just starts to become dull and repetitive.
I think that if a person learns better when they have to repeat things,
then they would have gained a lot. If
anything, they learned the format of their report well. I think if anything I would have just learned
that road rage cases are mot just cookie cutter, but they are all
different. They range in severity,
incidence and people involved.
I guess it would have been easier to write about what they gained from reports
had there been a section that allowed them to.
I think that they should of reported on what they gained form doing a
newsgroup report.
(c) How do their ideas influence what you yourself
think about these issues?
To be completely honest, I don’t think that their ideas influenced what
I think about any issues. Their ideas
were completely opinionated, and they weren’t backed up by facts or
statistics. Everything that I think
about these issues results from what I have gained from taking this driving
psychology course. I would have brought
in things such as the AWM technique, and the three fold self. I would have also talked about emotional
intelligences, and our culture of rage.
(b) Now go to Google
Groups search and type in "driving". See if you can corroborate the
conclusions of the student reports which were done several years ago. Is this
still going on the same way?
When I went to Google Groups and searched for a driving group, I found a
bunch of different things. I think that
the groups are generally the same, but I didn’t see that the format was the
same. I think that the whole point of a
group in general is to help people feel like they are not alone, and that they
can ‘vent’ and talk to others about how they feel. They are also able to get advice about
problems that they may be currently facing.
The
Question I am answering is Question 5:
(a) Our textbook Road Rage and
Aggressive Driving has checklist exercises in several chapters. Have a
friend do the following four exercises:
(i) Exercise on Aggressive
Thoughts and Feelings on p. 65-66
(ii) Exercise on Are You an Aggressive Competitor on p. 104-5
(iii) Exercise on Positive Driving Behaviors on p. 212-3
(iv) Exercise on Your Passive Aggressive Road Rage Tendency on p. 88-9
(b) Discuss the results with your friends. How do you explain the
results? Where did they get this style of reacting and driving? How do they
help you understand some principles of driving psychology mentioned in the
book? (c)
Discuss how this activity helps you to become more aware of yourself as a
driver.
(i) Exercise on Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings on
p. 65-66
Results: My husband’s results
were not very surprising to me because I drive with him a lot. He had a lot of the statements checked in all
three areas of this check list. Some of
the ones that he checked in the first area were:
·
I don’t think passengers should tell me how to drive and I let them know
if they try
·
When drivers become aggressive y tailgating me, I enjoy slowing down to
pay them back
·
When a driver cuts me off and then slows down, I feel like ramming that
car
From the second
area, some of what he checked was:
·
In heavy traffic I feel a constant desire to weave across lanes, trying
to get ahead.
·
When I am late, I have no patience and tailgate slower motorists in my
way
·
I don’t have respect for driver who forget to turn their blinkers on or
off
From the third
area, he checked:
·
When I am in a rush and upset I cut in front of cars and rush through
yellow lights
·
When I am tired I become less alert, but I still need to drive. I have no choice.
Explanation:
He had a lot more answers checked on the first tow sections, which shows
me that he needs to work on his fantasies of retaliation and revenge, and his
high pressure driving and competition.
He only had two marked on the final section which was the impulsive and
reckless driving.
I think that after seeing his results, he is more aware that how he
behaves behind the wheel is unacceptable and dangerous to not only him, but
others as well.
(ii) Exercise on Are You an Aggressive Competitor
on p. 104-5
Results: My husband found out
that he is 60% an aggressive competitor.
He checked off things like:
·
I really hate it when traffic is congested and I cant get ahead of
others because I feel like I am losing
·
I have discovered that I can force my way into any lane by being pushy
·
I love it when I pass a long line of waiting cars, then when I cut in at
the front of the line. Victory! Only
loser wait in line
Explanation:
Although 60%
isn’t 100%, it still is really bad. He
needs to start recognizing that he is a little too competitive on the road, and
that it can cause him to be very aggressive.
I would suggest to him to use the acknowledge, witness, and modify
technique. I think that because he is
already acknowledging, he is half way there!
(iii) Exercise on Positive Driving Behaviors on p.
212-3
Results: My husband’s results were 5 out of 14 that he
checked in this list. Some of them were:
·
Compensating for the “blind spot” by always using both side and rear view
mirrors and turning your head for a better view
·
Putting on the turn signal in consideration of others; thinking of how
to reduce stress for others
·
Merging properly when a lane is closed by remaining in your lane until
reaching the merge point.
Explanation:
This just
explains that he is more a negative driver then a positive one, but I think
that it is important to recognize that he does have some good qualities, and
with a little more help, he can improve even more, and get even more positive
driving behavior qualities.
(iv) Exercise on Your Passive Aggressive Road Rage
Tendency on p. 88-9
Results: My husband only checked one of the items on this
check list, it is:
·
I make gestures and facial expressions to myself to shoe my disapproval
of pushy drivers.
Explanation:
It is obvious
that my husband is not really a passive aggressive driver.
(b) Where did they get
this style of reacting and driving?
I think that my husband got this style of reacting through many
different places. First, I think that he
attained some of these bad skills by growing up and watching his parents
drive. I think that a lot of times,
parents don’t realize that how they drive with their kids in the car is how
they are teaching their kids to drive in the future.
I also think that our culture has something to do with it. I think that we live in such a culture of
rage and competitiveness, that it is breed in them to want to be competitive
and aggressive, especially as men.
I think that the third factor that has something to do with it is
media. There are plenty of movies,
commercials and TV shows out that display bad driving, and they make it seem
like that it is an ok thing to do. They
display it as if it is cool and safe. I
think that we are so bombarded as a society with images, that sometimes we
reenact them without even realizing it.
(c) How do they help you
understand some principles of driving psychology mentioned in the book?
These checklist help me understand some of the principles of driving
psychology because it shows me very clear, and first hand that aggressive
drivers can acknowledge they have a problem but utilizing these
checklists. It also proves that the A,
W, M approach is usable, and can actually change a driver completely, if they
are willing.
(d) Discuss how this activity helps you to become
more aware of yourself as a driver.
Checklists are
beneficial for many reasons. They are
not only very fun to do, but if you do them honestly you can discover a lot
about yourself, in that
The
Question I am answering is Question 6:
(a) Search the Web and the
University of Hawaii Library Electronic Resources of full text journals to find
out what is known about how cell phone use affects people's driving. Summarize some
of this literature. Be sure you have articles from both the Web and the Library
Electronic Journals Databases. Give the full reference and link for each
article.(b) Use the theory in the Lecture Notes to explain what drivers need to
learn about themselves in order to be able to handle the proper use of cell
phones while driving. Is it better to train drivers to use cell phones properly
or is it better to outlaw the use of any cell phones while driving? Discuss the
solutions.
(a) Search the Web and
the University of Hawaii Library Electronic Resources of full text journals to
find out what is known about how cell phone use affects people's driving.
Summarize some of this literature. Be sure you have articles from both
the Web and the Library Electronic Journals Databases. Give the full reference
and link for each article.
Electronic Journal Article #1 – http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu:4062/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=108&sid=1361cad8-35db-4dfa-8f57-4480c848e01f%40sessionmgr103
Citation- Electronic Design; 5/11/2006, Vol. 54 Issue 10,
p19-19, 1p
Summary-
This article that I found on the
The article then begins to give statistics by saying that, “the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute found that driver distraction causes nearly 80% of all crashes. The
most common distraction is the use of cell phones.”
They conducted a study that involved drivers being filmed with in car
video systems and sensors. They observed
various things like distraction, drowsiness and error prior to the
accident. They also had a black box that
calculated how fast the car was going and many more technologically advanced
items that helped know the speed and the conditions surrounding the car and the
driver at all time.
This author suggests that we don’t need to be connected, and is all
about the old fashioned way; the way it used to be. They said that people don’t like to hold
conversations face to face, but that they constantly want to be tethered to
their work or business, and to try to be able to squeeze in a call or two
between breaks in their lives.
Electronic Journal Article #2- http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu:4062/ehost/pdf?vid=15&hid=108&sid=1361cad8-35db-4dfa-8f57-4480c848e01f%40sessionmgr103
Citation- Computing Canada; 3/3/2006, Vol. 32 Issue 3,
p18-18, 1p
Summary-
This article was titled, “Dialing and Driving Banned at AMEC”. It discusses a man who was addicted to his
cell phone and his black berry. He felt
that he always needed to check his messages and that he always needed to return
calls in the car. The company then
created a new rule that said that employees could not dial or talk on the phone
while they are driving.
This was met with various different reactions. Some people thought that it was a great idea,
and others thought that they wouldn’t be able to get any work done if they
weren’t able to speak on the phone.
Michael, the man that was addicted to his cell phone, said that
initially he didn’t like this new rule, but that he understands the importance of
not talking on phone, now.
He has had to take certain steps in order to not be tempted to call while
he is driving. He has had to put his
cell phone and black berry in his briefcase, and the briefcase in the trunk so
that he can’t get to it at all. This
rule is obviously self monitored, and so it is up to employee to remain
responsible.
This article also gave statistics, by saying that motorists who use cell
phones while driving are four times as likely to a crash serious enough to
injure themselves. They also found that
the difference in cell phones didn’t make a difference. In other words, it doesn’t necessarily make a
difference if you have a hands free cell phone.
I thought that this was very interesting, but I guess it is about where
your mind is at, and not necessarily where your hands are at.
Web Article #3-
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press07242000.html
Summary-
This article discussed that banning cell phones while
driving, may be premature, and the benefits might out weigh the risk. The authors
said that the chances of being killed while using a cell phone in a car are 6.4
in one million. They said that
statistically, that is 80% less then the risk of being killed while driving
with a blood alcohol level of .10%. The
risk of being killed by a driver using a cell phone is even lower, and ends up
being 92% less than the annual risk of being killed by a driver with any (even
small amounts) blood alcohol content.
The benefits listed
in the article included; peace of mind, apprehension of drunk drivers, and
decreased emergency response time. An
interesting quote that I wanted to include is this, “The study notes that the
cost of banning cell phone use while driving is about $700,000 for each
quality-adjusted life year saved. That is 30 times more expensive than
achieving the same public health benefit with driver airbags, and ten times
more expensive than achieving that benefit by keeping the speed limit on
interstate highways at 55 instead of 65 MPH”
I thought this
was interesting because they gave the flip side of what most researchers are
presenting on this topic. They suggest
that before the government places restrictions they do more research to weigh
both the costs and benefits.
Web Article #4- http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/06/29/hscout533489.html
Summary-
This article talks about how talking on a cell phone is worse then
driving drunk. They did a study where they got forty people and they were
either impaired by alcohol, or they were on a cell phone, or there was no
impairment at all. They found that drunk
driver drove more aggressively and that cell phone drivers were more sluggish. They also found that cell phone drivers were
more likely to get into an accident by rear ending someone then a person who
was driving drunk would.
I thought that this study was a little biased because they only had
forty participants in their study, and they really generalized their answers.
(b) Use the theory in
the Lecture Notes to explain what drivers need to learn about themselves in
order to be able to handle the proper use of cell phones while driving.
From the lecture notes, I think that people need to know the three fold self
and they need to understand what they can and cant handle the vehicle. I think they need to know that there is an
affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor aspect.
I also think that people need to get familiar with not just their cell
phones before driving, but with their radios, and air conditioning. Everything in the car can be distracting and
so we need to all become familiar with it before we get on the road.
(c) Is it better to
train drivers to use cell phones properly or is it better to outlaw the use of
any cell phones while driving? Discuss the solutions.
I think that after reading all these articles, I am split. I think that researchers are not all agreed
either. I think that hands free is
better then hand held cell phones. I
guess I feel that talking on the phone with a hand free set, and holding a
conversation with a passenger in the car is no different. The only thing that is different is that the
passenger in the car can see what is going on and how the driving conditions
are at that present moment. But I still
don’t think that there is much difference, and if there is, it is very minimal.
So, with that, I think that yes, people should be trained to use cell
phones properly. I think that dialing is
just as bad as a hand held cell phone, so think that if your cell phone can
dial by voice activation, then that is the best solution. I don’t have any idea how this would be
enforced though.
My
advice to future generations:
This class is very helpful to everyone.
You get out of it what you put in.
I suggest that you put in hard work early. Do not procrastinate. All the work can be done in a timely
manner. It actually doesn’t take that
long. I know a lot of the tasks can seem
daunting at first, but really, once you read the instructions and just start,
it is not that difficult. I have taken
this class twice now, and my advice has remained the same. Don’t procrastinate. Period.
Enjoy this class and have fun with it.
Oh yeah, and good luck!
Required Links:
Class Home
Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm
My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/40af2006/trujillo/trujillo-home.htm