Psychology 409a- October 11, 2006                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Effects of Age, Gender and type of Car Driven                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              By: Jessica Trujillo

Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral3.htm 
Instructor: Dr. Leon James

Leon James (2006). Lecture Notes on Driving Psychology for G25. Article 8. Online at:
http://www.drdriving.org/surveys/interpretations.htm

 

Concept #1- Aggressive driving

1)       Definition:

a.       Aggressive driving is a cultural norm made up of a syndrome of habits that stick together – it is transmitted throughout generations – children witnessing parents driving and modeling behavior when they get older, which is reinforced through the media, peers, and identity issues

2)       Additional Facts:

a.       Aggressive driving syndrome (if a person consistently find his/her self doing one of these, it is more likely that they will do the other 15 as well)

b.      These 16 behaviors are:

                                                               i.      Feeling more stress

                                                             ii.      Swearing more often

                                                            iii.      Acting more frequently in a hostile manner

                                                           iv.      Speeding on a regular basis

                                                             v.      Yelling more at other drivers

                                                           vi.      Honking more a drivers

                                                          vii.      Making insulting gestures

                                                        viii.      Tailgating more often

                                                           ix.      Cutting off people more often

                                                               i.      Expressing road rage behavior more often

                                                             ii.      Feeling enraged more often

                                                            iii.      More often indulging in violent fantasies

                                                           iv.      Feeling more competitive with other drivers

                                                             v.      Rushing a lot of the time

                                                           vi.      More often feeling the desire to drive dangerously

                                                          vii.      Feeling less calm or level headed while driving

3)       I choose this topic because I found that it is interesting that aggressive driving is not just composed of one cause, but it is a factor of various causes.  I also found it interesting that it is a cultural norm, and that you can pass it on to your children just like anything else.

4)       Lecture Notes:

a.       The lecture notes discuss the A, W, M method – acknowledging you have a problem, witnessing it, and modifying it.  I think that if aggressive drivers desired to change, this would be the beginning of the steps they would need to take.

 

Concept #2- Differences in Age, gender, and car driven

1)       Definition:  there are various differences in age, gender, and car driven when it come to aggression.  Here are a few of the findings:

a.       Age-

                                                               i.      Young, novice drivers are more aggressive compared to older, experienced drivers

                                                             ii.      Young drivers are more likely to speed and change lanes without using a signal.

                                                            iii.      Young drivers also swear the most, as well as block the left lane by going slow

                                                           iv.      Senior citizen drivers are found to be the least aggressive

b.      Gender-

                                                               i.      Men are more aggressive then women (self admitted)

                                                             ii.      Depending on the vehicle driven

1.       men are more aggressive when driving a sports car or a light truck

2.       women are more aggressive when driving an SUV or a luxury vehicle

3.        

                                                            iii.      Overall, men speed more then women

                                                           iv.      There are no gender differences in lane hopping without a signal

                                                             v.      Women run more red lights than men

c.       Car Driven-

                                                               i.      Driving a light truck is correlated with men and women becoming aggressive

                                                             ii.      More men then women find themselves less aggressive behind a family vehicle such as a van

                                                            iii.      Men in sports cars are more likely to become aggressive versus women in the same context

                                                           iv.      People in large vehicles tend to drive more aggressively because they have a false sense of security and because they are futher off the ground

2)       I choose this topic because I thought the various differences in each of the subjects were very interesting.  I think that it is to no surprise that young drivers, male drivers, and sports cars are correlated with more aggressive tendencies.

3)       Lecture Notes: Taxonomy of Driving Behavior Habits (Affective, Cognitive, and Sensorimotor) realizing that all three of these areas effect how we think, feel, and act. 

 

Links:

1)       http://www.aaafoundation.org/quizzes/index.cfm?button=aggressive  - a quiz to find out if you are an aggressive driver

2)       http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/roadrage.htm  - information, answers and tips regarding aggressive driving and road rage

3)       http://www.sirc.org/publik/driving_risk.shtml  - sex differences in driving, and insurance risk

 

 

Class Homepage: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm
My Homepage: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/trujillo/trujillo-home.htm