Report 2:
My Understanding of Driving Psychology
By Constance DeCaires
Instructions for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-report2.htm
I am answering Questions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
The Question I am answering is
Question 1.
(a) Consider Tables 1, 2, 3,
and 4 in the Lecture Notes, in the Section on Driving Psychology Theory and
Charts at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-lecture-notes.htm#Charts
Consult the article from which the Tables were taken. (b) Using your own words,
describe the three behavioral domains and levels of a driver (nine cells). (c)
Illustrate each domain with your own driving behavior skills and errors, or
that of another driver you know well, or a driver in a particular movie. (d)
Make up a "driving personality makeover" plan for yourself (or
another driver you know well), relating specifically to negative thoughts
you have about other road users. (e) Discuss the problems you anticipate in
carrying out such a plan successfully. (f) Any other comments you wish to make.
(a) To view the tables being discussed in this question click
here
(b) The Three Behavioral Domains and Levels of a Driver
The
three behavioral domains are affective (A), cognitive(C), and sensorimotor
(S). Within these domains the affective
can be seen as the feelings or emotions one experiences, whether they be
hostile (ex. “What the heck does that guy think he’s doing!?!”) or supportive
(ex. “I better be safe and wait my turn to go left, instead of cutting through
the street.”). The cognitive domain
deals with the mental processes that go on having to do with the biased (ex.
“Women don’t know how to drive.”) or unbiased (ex. “They look like they’re is in a hurry, better let them pass.”) thoughts a
driver might have. The sensorimotor
includes the actions that result from the affective or cognitive, such as a
supportive act like slowing down to let some one in or an aggressive one like
tailgating and cutting someone off.
There
are also three behavioral levels that correspond with the three behavioral
domains, responsibility (3), safety (2), and proficiency (1). Responsibility includes ones virtue, ration,
and fulfillment. The level of
responsibility is the last to be met, due to the fact that a person must
develop within the other two levels first.
Safety consists of fairness, impartial characteristics, and driving
etiquette. The level of proficiency has to
do with the expertise within the individual amongst the different domains. Proficiency incorporates composure, awareness,
and the had-eye-foot coordination required to drive a vehicle so as to keep it
out of collisions.
The
three behavioral domains and three behavioral levels present a matrix of nine
cells. In each cell is a combination of
one behavioral domain (A, C,S) and one behavioral
level (1,2,3). Within each cell are two zones that orientate skill (+) and
error (-). With two zones at each of the
nine cells we end up with eighteen behavioral zones. Each zone is given a corresponding number.
Each
zone is numbered from one to eighteen.
Zones one thru nine represent skill (+), and ten thru eighteen error
(-). Zones one, two, and three are in
the first behavioral level of proficiency, affective proficiency (i), cognitive
proficiency (ii), and sensorimotor
proficiency (iii). The zones of error in within the level of
proficiency are numbers x (A), xi (C), and xii (S). Within the level of
safety the zones of skill are number iv (A), v (C), vi (S); and error is numbered xiii (A), xiv (C), xv (S). At the level of responsibility the zones of
skill are vii (A), viii (C), ix (S); and error occupies the last three zones of xvi (A), xvii (C), xviii (S).
(c) My Behavioral Skills and Errors
within each Domain
The
level of proficiency (1) has to do with the expertise within the individual
behavioral domain. Affective proficiency
(A1) can be seen as being able to remain emotionally tactful, composed, and
alert. In order to demonstrate skill in
this zone is following the rules and laws of driving and obeying them. This is something that I make sure I do my
best at following, being as though my mother is an enforcer of the law not only
with the Honolulu police department, but also even without the handcuffs and
side arm at home. An exhibition of error
can be seen within many movies, such as “The Fast and the Furious”. Showing no respect for the law and their
enforcers, by endangering yourself and the others around you with unsafe
speeding and street racing is almost the epitome of error within the level of
affective proficiency
Cognitive
proficiency (C1) is being aware of and understanding what is happening around
you and the other drivers. Sensorimotor
proficiency (S1) has to do with the actual hand, eye, and foot coordination
that goes into driving and staying out of collisions. The character
Safety
(2) includes a driver’s ability to avoid, identify, and react appropriately to
the presence of trouble. Affective
proficiency deals with trouble avoidance by driving defensively with
impartiality, and not aggressively with opportunism. I am a defensive driver, and make sure that I
am aware of not only what I am doing, but also what the other drivers are doing
around me. Having the knowledge of what
he other driver on the road are doing, further helps me be more capable of
accomplishing what I need to do, as well as not inhibiting the others around
me. For example, if someone is trying to
merge into the same lane that I am in and I am in their way, I would either
speed up or slow down to give them the room needed
When
it comes to examples of errors in affective safety, I see and deal with them
everyday I drive to school. I see it
when someone is cutting me off or trying to merge into an opening between two
cars that is dangerously small. Also when someone is inhibiting another driver like speeding up so
that another car is unable to merge in front of you, or cutting off a car
coming up from behind by darting into their lane. Aggressive drivers range from the young to
the young at heart. Aggressive driving
comes in many shapes and forms; these are just some of the main ones that I
experience on a daily basis.
When
I first received my license I was very arrogant and naive. Rain or shine, night
or day I drove as if I was untouchable and invincible. I didn’t pay much attention to the drivers
around me, mainly myself. I drove only
looking at the road in front of me, not at the road ahead. I didn’t pay attention to the condition of
the road, whether it was wet or dry, bumpy or smooth. I was more of which demonstrating my lack of
skill within the zone of cognitive safety.
But now, having had my license for going on five
years now, I would say that my driving has changed in that I now could be
placed within the zone of skill rather than error. For instance, I now look at not only the road
that is directly in front of me, but the road ahead as well. I pay attention to the road, looking for
trash, potholes, random debris, and whether it is wet or dry. But its not only the
road that will throw you curve ball, it’s the drivers on the road as well.
Your fellow drivers are something to watch out
for as well. Being as though that you
can’t read their mind, it is important that you are aware of what they are
doing, as well as yourself. Because
there is no documented proof of anyone that is or was telepathic, it is vital
that as you are driving if a situation were to arise you would be able to react
appropriately. When I speak an
appropriate reaction, I’m not only talking about the driving, but also the
driver. You must not only control your
vehicle, but yourself as well.
For example, the night before I was with my
boyfriend and we were returning home after having picked up our dinner. In order to do so, we would need to turn left. Having assessed the road and its drivers, my
boyfriend cautiously drove out of the driveway and proceeded to turn left on to
the road. As we were turning a truck
that was in the lane we were to turn in to, sped up. Given that we didn’t have enough time to make
it into he lane before the truck reached us, we pulled
into the median and was going to wait till it passed, which would have left us
with a clear lane to drive into.
But
as quickly as the truck sped up, it also came to a stop right in front of us
attempting to turn left into the driveway we had just come from. So at the moment my boyfriend and I are stuck
in the middle of the road, because this truck, instead of turning left before
my car on the passenger side, chose to turn left in front of us on the driver
side. This choice prohibited us from
pulling all the way into the median, which left the back half of my car in the
road. So at the moment we were stuck
half way in and out of the median, perpendicular to the road, which was causing
us to block traffic.
We
identified some trouble as that we had to turn left, and there was an on coming
car in the lane that we were to turn. So
in order to avoid such trouble, instead of gunning it for the lane we had
planned to pull into the median and wait until that car had passed and then
merged. But even more trouble had come
about, because the on coming driver wasn’t planning on passing us by, rather
that it sought out a left turn of its own into the place we had just left. How would one react to such a predicament?
A persons
first instinct may be to overreact, give a scornful look, and yell a couple of
obscenities. From there, there would be
an exchange of these explicative words, and maybe a few hand gestures on top of
that. Someone who would act out like
this would definitely be presenting his or her error within the domain of
sensorimotor safety. Fortunately that
isn’t how either my boyfriend or eye reacted.
The only scornful look that had been exchanged was the one coming from
the woman driving the truck that cut us off.
My boyfriend and I stayed calm, as my boyfriend maneuvered the car as to
get us out of that situation safely.
Although I did feel it was rude to be cut off, and stranded in the road
blocking traffic, it was brushed off as we made our way home.
Responsibility
is labeled so as to reflect the morality one should have in keeping themselves
accountable for their actions, even if those actions result in the hurting or
injuring of another person (affective responsibility). This would then affect the way a person may
think about their future actions, resulting in these thoughts being more
pro-social rather than anti-social (cognitive responsibility). And because of these positive dramatizations
and mental health there would be pleasure and fulfillment within the act of
driving rather than stress and dejection (sensorimotor responsibility).
Being
held accountable for your actions is something that we all struggle with, no
matter what age you are. And the crashes
and accidents that happen to include the driving of motor vehicles, is even
harder to take responsibility for. I’ve
been in two accidents since I’ve gotten my license. The first occurred I the fall of my senior
year in high school. I was hit from behind,
as a result of the car that had hit me was hit from the rear by another
car. In that these-car accident I was
not the one at fault. The man who had
hit the car that hit me was ultimately the person at fault.
To
portray skill at the level of affective responsibility, given these
circumstances, the man that initiated the collisions would have taken full
responsibility for his actions. In the
beginning this was not the case, because the man was no taking responsibility
for the crashes. In the end it wasn’t
his decision to make, it was up to the insurance companies, and they did hold
him responsible for rear-ending the car in front of him as well as my car,
which was a result of the first rear-ending.
In the end everything was paid for, I had a few neck and back injuries
that I am still till this day, three years later, recovering from.
The
second accident that I was in left me to be the one at fault, due to the fact
that I was following the car in front of me too closely, resulting in me
tapping in to his bumper at two miles an hour.
Two miles an hour may not seem to be very fast, but when I hit that car,
I jolted as if I was on the bumper car ride at the carnival. We pulled over into a nearby parking lot to
assess the damage. Neither of our cars or
persons appeared to have any damage. At
the time I was a little flustered and forgot the number one rule my mom had
taught, being as though if I had ever been in an accident. I didn’t call the police.
I
do remember trying to exchange information, but that didn’t happen. Reason being, which I found out later, was
because some of his papers on his car weren’t current. So at the risk of being ticketed the man just
wanted to go our separate ways. My
conscience was really killing, and I didn’t let the man leave without my cell
number. He ended up calling later that
evening complaining of his neck being sore, and I filed a police report the
next day. Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t
given him my number to call, but on the other hand I learned a lot from this
incident.
For
example, I learned to appreciate other peoples
boundaries, as well as my own on the road.
I don’t invade other peoples’ space.
I respect it by giving them the allotted amount of space necessary. For instance, when I am driving on a highway
at 45 mph, instead of having one car length between me and the car in front of
me, I make sure there are around four to five car lengths in between us. I also show my respect for other peoples’
space when I am changing lanes. I always
make sure to signal for the necessary 100 feet, and check to see if it is
clear, before I consider changing lanes.
Such
a thought process is an example of cognitive responsibility, and the actions
that follow are also an example of sensorimotor responsibility. Because these actions, which not only help
keep my passengers and I safe, help me enjoy driving more. Where as it once was a
rushed chore, I now see driving as potential time to spend with myself, whether
it is singing with the radio or even with the window down and the wind in my
face.
(d) My Driving Personality Makeover
STEP
1- Acknowledging that I have this
particular negative habit. (A)
I regret that I sometimes act out on
impulse without thinking my actions all the way through.
STEP
2- Witnessing myself performing this
negative habit. (W)
I have done this most recently as I
was exiting the Safeway parking lot. I
had to make a left turn on to the road, and instead of waiting for a safer
opening I bolted in to the road and sped up in order to catch up with the rest
of traffic. I remember feeling as soon
as I had darted into the road this feeling of regret and disgust. Wondering why did I take
such a dumb risk, which endangered myself as well as everyone around me. I remember feeling angry with myself for
doing something so selfish.
STEP
3- Modifying this habit. (M)
In order to change this particular
behavior I plan on being more alert to my feelings and thoughts, in that I will
work to find a balance between the amount of concentration I give to everyone
else and myself. And I will continue to
follow up these behaviors with feelings of regret and disgust, so as to
discourage them from happening any further.
(e) Anticipated Problems
I do expect some problems as
I head into the modifications needed in order to change from an aggressive
driver to a supportive driver. This
transition will not be easily accomplished overnight, because it has taken
years for these habits to form unconsciously.
But I hope that because I am now making an absolute conscious effort to
correct the maladaptive habits, they won’t take as long to break as they did to
make.
The Question I am answering is
Question 3.
(a) Discuss these two Web
sites: drivers.com vs. drdriving.org by first describing their overall
appearance and purpose. (b) What are their main differences? Be sure to
consider at least these areas: (i) articles (ii)
newsletters (iii) style (iv) probable audience (v)
public relations or policy (vi) advertising (vii) size (vii) ranking (viii)
Other sites that link to each. (c) Any other comments you wish to make.
(a) The
first site drivers.com specializes in
information based on driving, driving behavior, and traffic safety. It exists in order to provide the public or
private parties a resources and information regarding the latter. They’re a source for articles about traffic
safety around the world, as well as proving links for things you can put in your
car to either make it safer or easier to drive.
The main colors that are used are grays and dark blues, which gives the site a very serious sort of overly professional
type feel. They also had links to professional
driving jobs, as well as information and links about computers, and
advertisements for software.
The second website drdriving.org appears at first to be much
brighter, as it is outlined in a pastel orange/yellow border with a cartoon
caricature of Dr. Leon James driving in a little red car, circled in wreath of
white and yellow flowers. The colors
alone give it a warmer and more inviting feel to the site. This site provides extensive knowledge about
the psychology of driving, as well as an impressive list of links to other
sites, a search engine, and published articles about this relatively new
psychology.
(b)
(i) Articles
Drivers.com has a lot of
articles whose topics are related to driving, like
gas prices and road regulations. Whereas
drdriving.com articles focus on the actual
behavior, feelings, and thought process going on within the mind of a driver.
(ii) Newsletters
Drivers.com sends out a
monthly email newsletter, which appears to be free. All you have to do is enter in your name and
email address and they’ll send you an email every month with new articles and
updates within the site.
(iii) Style
Each site has their own individual style and look. If these two sites were coffee shops
drivers.com would be star bucks and drdriving.org would be the little coffee
shop around the corner that you go to because when you go for coffee here you
not only get a jolt of caffeine, but a few words of wisdom as well. Drivers.com has a very slick big business
approach to it, with all of its generally appealing articles. Where drdriving.org on the other hand has a
very specialized focus which lets you know what it’s all about in the first
sentence at the top of the page
(iv) Probable audience
I think people who would use
drivers.com are those who are looking for current events related to driving in
general, whether it’s about gas prices, tires, safety on the roads, or new car
models. On the website it says that it
provides such information for public speakers, researchers, policy makers, and
the like. I think that those are more or
less its hopeful audience rather than its actual audience, I ‘m not sure. There is something for everyone on this
website which is its biggest positive as well as negative. “The jack of all trades” as my grandmother
likes to say.
Drdriving.org is more for the
researcher who is specifically looking for information about the behavioral
psychology behind the wheel. As well as
for those who are looking for answers about their own driving behavior. You can
obtain surveys and tests, as well as statistics and access to the man behind
the curtain via email. The information
for the site is much more specified which helps the surfer determine within an
instant whether or not this is what they are looking for.
(v) Public relations or policy
Along with its information I
think the PR that drivers.com does is mostly general, in its catering to anyone
and everyone. But as far as someone
being able to contact anyone affiliated with that website I don’t think that it
would be as quick or proficient as drdriving.org. Because I know that you can actually send an
email to the people who run drdriving.org and get a sincere and well thought
response it keeps its connections to the public much more personal and
welcoming.
(vi) Advertising
Drivers.com has a lot of
advertisements ranging from jobs to books, drivers education, and
software. And I’m sure that there is
more advertisement than that.
Drdriving.org really only has that one link to Amazon on it, which is
for his book “Road Rage and Aggressive Driving.”
(vii) Size
Drivers.com is much larger
than drdriving.org, due to the fact that it founders have much more access to
many different resources. But whether
not they have more quantity, it doesn’t add to the quality of that information. Drdriving.org holds more quality within their
boundless information.
(viii) Ranking
I couldn’t find either sites
official ranking (if that exists). But
if I had to rank them I would hold drdriving.org above drivers.com, because to
me I really hold quality over quantity.
What good is it if you have a lot of something, but don’t know how to
use it.
(ix) Other sites that link to each
Drivers.com has a few links
that are on its pages, one of which is a link to a truck driving school,
several others for car parts that also link you to drivers.com. Drdriving.org has a few links that take you
from the website, but the only link that I can think of that would take you to
the drdriving.org site are those that are on the class home pages.
The Question I am answering is
Question 4
(a) Select six student
reports on driving psychology from Generation 20, as listed in the Readings
Section of the Lecture Notes. www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/409a-g22-lecture-notes.htm#g20-reports
You must select any two students from
Report 1, two different students from Report 2, and two still different
students from Report 3. So there will be a total of six different students, two
students for each report. (b) Summarize each of the six reports. Be sure you
put a link to the report you are referring to. (c) Add a General Conclusion
Section in which you discuss your reactions to what they did – (i) their ideas, (ii) their method, (iii) their
explanations. (d) What did they gain from doing their reports? (e) How do their
ideas influence what you yourself think about these issues? (f) Any other
comments you wish to make.
(a)
Report 1A Shari
Arakawa-Longboy
Report 1B Jenny Arakaki
Report 2A Ikue Fukushima
Report 2B Chris Concepcion
Report 3A Jesse
Chang
Report 3B Jeremy Kubo
(b) Summary
Report 1A
Shari
Arakawa-Longboy
She then went on to discuss
what traffic psychology is and how it related to her and everyone else who slid
behind the wheel. She defined the
drivers three fold self before she went on to quickly talk about
self-witnessing methodology, road rage, aggressive driving legislation, the
driver’s emotional intelligence and emotional spin cycle, lifelong driver
education, theory of driving, and automatization of driving behavior.
The drivers three fold self consists of the affective (affections, emotions, motives),
cognitive (understanding, reasoning, decision making), and sensorimotor
(sensory input and motor output, or action).
Self-witnessing methodology is being able to truly witness yourself in every
aspect as a driver, by being completely honest with one self and exploring the
deeper side of your emotional reactions and motives.
Road rage
is a habit of aggressive driving and is a result of losing your patience and
having too much pride. It appears in
three forms verbal (yelling, searing, honking), quiet (complaining, rushing,
competing), and epic (cutting someone off, chasing, fighting, and shooting).
Aggressive driving legislation is a way for states to reduce aggressive driving, by
passing laws that are specifically aimed at aggressive drivers. Main problem with this is that there is no
agreed upon definition of aggressive driving, therefore how can you fight
something of which you have no understanding of.
The driver’s emotional intelligence is having control over ones emotions and knowing what
to do when you become emotionally aroused.
It is also being able to think rationally and objectively, rather than
emotionally and subjectively.
The driver’s emotional spin cycle involves the way each individual reacts to daily
events, which can either be in a positive manner or a negative manner.
Lifelong driver education consists of an on going learning process, which includes
adapting old skills and learning new ones in every aspect.
Theory of driving consists of an external (situation) and internal (disposition)
component. Situation + Disposition = Theory of driving.
Automatization of
driving behavior is formed when driving becomes a habituated behavior, such as reactions
and responses learned through experience and observation.
Report 1B
Jenny Arakaki
Jenny begins with some examples
from previous generations. Such as how
society is going at such a fast pace that as everyone rushes around to get
where they need to be they’re forgetting to enjoy the ride. (How symbolic of life itself.) Also the accordion affect, which is what occurs when one person steps on their brake which in
turn creates a chain reaction which will continue for many miles along the road,
whose representation further displays the fact that one persons action affects everyone and everything.
Some of the terms that she
defined in which I will reiterate for you are:
The driver's threefold
self is your driving personality which consists of you
affective self (emotions and attitudes), cognitive self (thinking and
reasoning), and sensorimotor self (perceptions and motor skills).
Self-witnessing
methodology is witnessing a scenario and at
the same time thinks aloud the feelings and thinking of the part that is
witnessing. This is done so as to modify
yourself as a driver.
Road rage is when a driver reacts with anger toward another
driver and the anger is expressed overtly and communicated to the other,
causing unruly conduct or unsafe behavior.
This can come in three forms verbal, quiet, and epic.
Aggressive driving
legislation is an establishment set to make rules and guidelines for drivers to
follow They take in to account such
things as behavior to better define the rules so that law enforcement can punish
such violators.
The driver's emotional
intelligence provides an understanding of how
anger occurs and how you have choices to analyze the situation.
The driver's emotional
spin cycle consists of two sides a positive (which includes feelings of self-confidence and enthusiasm) and a
negative (including depression and self-destructive behavior). In which those sides are constantly turning
and customizing our behavior.
Newsgroups for drivers are forums which allow various people to discuss their
problems or solutions on the web to each other and obtain feedback from various
readers. (Kind of like a blog, except it specifically discusses driving.)
Lifelong driver
education suggests that the instilment of good driving behavior is a continuous
process.
Scofflaw is the tendency to automatically disregard certain
traffic laws, regulations, and signs. It
is more or less a disregard for authority in its many forms, whether such
actions are passive or aggressive.
Left Lane Bandits are hard-headed people who stay in the left lane going
only a couple of miles over the speed limit.
Report 2A
Ikue Fukushima
In report two each student
was to go through a complete driver personality makeover. But because Ikue
did not have her permit or drivers license she decided to make over her boy
friend. She was to first assess his
problem areas and did so by having him do some of the tests and activities in
the road rage book. After gathering all
such information, she then analyzed it in order to understand her boyfriends
three fold self. And by understanding
she can begin to work with him to modify these areas.
It was determined that her
subject was to work o his cognitive and affective self. One of the main problems was swearing, so she
had him record himself as he drove and record the amount of profanities used at
the end of the day. Also while listening
to his comments he would rephrase them so as to reflect emotional
intelligence. She also had him wear a
rubber band around his wrist so that she could snap it if he swore or
complained while he was with her, she would snap the rubber band.
In the end there were gradual
improvements in all areas. Ikue found that it was it was much more successful to
engage her boyfriend in the experiment, rather than just conducting it on him.
Report 2B
Chris
Concepcion
Unlike Ikue,
Chris had his license and conducted the experiments upon himself. In the end of these tests he discovered that
he was guilty of being passive aggressive, rushing maniac, aggressive
competitor, an having verbal road rage
tendencies. He also recognized a pattern
of unsupportive driving behaviors throughout the test results. He then placed these behaviors into the
correct domains of the affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor.
He then started a driving
diary, and kept track of all the bad behaviors he caught himself doing by
putting beads of different colors into a cup while he was driving. Each color signified a different behavior and
at the end he would record these s behaviors in his diary. After tracking his behaviors without any
implemented modifications for the first week he then decided that every time he
caught himself behaving in such a manner he would remind himself how selfish
his ways would only make traffic worse.
He also tried to listen to
different music to see if that too would affect his behavior. But in the end, it wasn’t the music that
reduced his negative tendencies, but his conscious negative reinforcement, which
resulted in, what he says, a raise of his emotional
intelligence.
Report 3A
Jesse
Chang
An important key term
discussed in this report is Quality
Driving Circles (QDC), which are groups of two to ten people that meet
together with the purpose of sharing and discussing their driving experiences.
In this third report Jesse
develops a proposal for a lifelong driver’s education. He has seven stages; infancy (0-24 months),
toddler (2-3 years of age), early childhood (3-6 y.o.a.),
middle childhood (6-12 y.o.a.), adolescence (13-18 y.o.a.), adulthood (19 y.o.a. and
up), elderly.
In the first two stages, it
is assumed that, most learning about driving comes from observation. So in order to set a good and positive
example you start at the first drive home from the hospital. The drivers should be aware of their tones of
voice and keep them calm and under control.
As the child grows into their toddler years, the driver should be aware
of the child’s functioning emotional capabilities, and should be taught to take
responsibility for ones actions by leading with example.
As they grow into their childhood
years, everything being done previously should still remain incorporated; start
to embark on a journey of redirection with them. As they go thru new and different emotions,
if their behavior is not appropriate, redirect it and reinforce this redirection
with approval of the appropriate behaviors.
When they reach their middle
childhood encourage them to verbalize the dangers that they see on the road,
and help them come up with ways to prevent this type of an action or
behavior. As they become more aware of
their mental and emotional processes in adolescence, they should be acquired to
practice such techniques in a class especially designated for such in
intermediate and high school.
During adolescence, teenagers
would have to go through an extensive learning program which is identical to
the material covered in Dr. Leon James PSY 409a. This course would be incorporated in to
school curriculum, and only those students who demonstrate a true understanding
of the curriculum would be able to obtain their license. In this perfect world the penalties for
breaking the law by speeding or driving recklessly, would result in the
revocation of that driver’s license.
This would be done in order too further enforce the fact that driving
and having your license to drive is a privilege not a right.
In adulthood those obtaining
their license for the first time would have to go through a mandatory private
version of the PSY409a driving course.
If there were any violations, the driver would have to attend a QDC
(quality driving circle) for a set amount of time. Each driver would also need to refresh their
knowledge of the roads and the mind on the road with updated courses every
three years. Participating in these
refresher courses would benefit them in income tax and insurance cost
reduction.
An elderly person’s cognitive
and affective self may be well enough to drive, but a test would be needed to
determine their physical capabilities. Once
a person reaches the age of 65 they would from then on be required to under go
a regular yearly physical examination.
The purpose of which would be to check reflexes, sight and coordination. The doctor would determine the individual
physically fit or not.
Report 3B
Jeremy Kubo
Jeremy’s
lifelong driver education program exists in four groups; infancy through
elementary (age 0 – 12), intermediate (age 13 – 14), high school (age 15 – 18),
and post-high school (age 18+). In the
first phase the children learn how your become aware of their feelings. The ideas of sharing, peacefulness, and
sacrifice should be instilled as they grow and interact with their peers. It is also important that positive meanings
be placed upon the task of driving, so that they learn of its possibilities of
being an enjoyable experience rather than dreadful.
In the second phase the
cognitive self is coming into play, where the child is becoming more able to
consciously distinguish right from wrong on their own, rather than being told
how it is. While still incorporating the
tools learned from affective self in the previous stage, the children are
taught to engage in mock self witnessing.
For instance, how should someone react given such circumstances? How could have this been prevented? What would you be feeling or thinking in this
type of situation?
By the time of the high
school phase these teens may already be on road. This is when the sensorimotor self would be
developing. One would also be expected
to implement the information acquired along the way about the cognitive and
affective self. It is also important
that each driver implement the three step improvement program, in that they
should acknowledge, witness, and modify negative behaviors.
After high school drivers
would still be encourage to continue implementing the three self improvement
program. There would also be QDC’s made available for those who would like to
participate.
(c) My concluding reaction to-
(i) their ideas
In report one I liked the new
terms I learned form the definitions that the girls were giving about the
aggressive driver legislation, scofflaw, and left lane bandit. These are terms that will be incorporated
indefinitely in to my vocabulary.
In the second set of reports,
in report 2A I really liked the rubber band experiment that she implemented,
and also that she brought her boyfriend into the experiment, instead of just
conducting it on him. I also thought it
was pretty creative how the person in report 2B tracked his behaviors with
colored beads and a diary. The methods
in 2A could be used for helping to makeover a love one, where as keeping a
diary is a convenient way of tracking your personal progress.
In the third report, I like
how the lifelong driver education program of 3A was strict and meticulous about
the steps within each stage. Despite
from being strict, the requirements weren’t left without rewards such as the
awarding of ones license after completing the required courses, or receiving
income tax and insurance deductions for participating in QDC’s.
(ii) their methods
I really visually enjoyed the
reports whose information was separated and organized. It was much easier to read those reports
whose font was at least a size twelve, along with paragraphs that were not endless,
but neatly arranged so that each point was made in no more than seven
lines. This made it easier to understand
what the person was saying, as well as helping me determine important focus
points of the report. Overall in their
method of information delivery I favored quality over quantity, because what
does it matter if you have plenty of something without the knowledge to use it.
(iii) their
explanations
I’m glad that we had to read
two different reports within each section, as well as not being able to use the
same person in any of the sections. I
fell this way because reading the different interpretations gave me a broader
idea of the definitions and possible explanations of some the main ideas and
terminology of this course. I really
liked the different examples that were provided, especially if they were
personal experiences that enabled me to relate to it more easily.
Granted that it was time
consuming to read six different reports it balanced out, because where one
person was lacking in information or interpretation I would find understanding
in another. So you could really get a
better grasp on what was trying to be explained and put across.
(d) What did they gain from doing this
report?
In the words of
With Ikue
(report 2A) the assignment helped her with her driving skills and become more
aware of her bad habits. She became more
consciously aware of the ways that she was choosing to act and react. Through the experiments Ikue’s
boyfriend was able to become aware of his aggressive habits, and also
discovered that his philosophy in driving was very selfish. And for this he was becoming a better and
safer driver.
Chris (report 2B) was able to
identify his driving style and philosophy, as well as realize how unsupportive
he really is on the road. And by
identifying these traits within in himself, he an see it in others as well,
which results in him not wanting to act like that since he knows what it looks
like.
In report three both Jesse
(report 3A) and Jeremy (report 3B) believe that by changing themselves and
educating those around them is one of the first steps in eliminating the
vicious learned cycle of road rage. They
have both become a calmer driver because of this education, and feel it will
have the same affect on others.
(e) How did their ideas influence what I think of these
issues?
I think that a lot of the
ideas presented within all of the reports were very sound. The amount of work and effort needed in
modifying the individual is extensive, but is well worth benefits it
reaps. There has to be a realistic
understanding of how long of a timeline it would take to implement things, but
I believe the opportunities are there and it can be done. But it seriously has to start with ourselves. When it comes to modifications of the
individual in any way, I firmly believe that it starts when you lead by
example. And that’s where I began.
The Question I am answering is
Question 5
(a) Consider Table 5 in the
Lecture Notes, in the Section on Driving Psychology Theory and Charts at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/409a-g21-lecture-notes.htm#Charts
(b) Consult the article from which the Table was taken. (c) Copy and paste the
table into your file. Now delete the examples in each cell and replace them
with your own examples that you make up. (d) Discuss why driving is such a big
problem in all societies and why no effective solutions have yet been found for
them. (e) Discuss the solutions offered by Dr. Leon James (www.DrDriving.org). What likelihood is there that his approach
will be adopted? Explain. (f) Any other comments you wish to make.
(a) This
article introduces the reader to the ideas of driving psychology, and defines
the terminology to be used within the charts
(b) For
further understanding on the charts and information that precede and follow
this chart click
here
(c)
|
Table
5 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The above comes from: www.drdriving.org/articles/driving_psy.htm
(d) Discuss why driving is such a big problem
in all societies and why no effective solutions have yet been found for them.
I think one of the main
reasons why driving is such a big problem is that there isn’t a clear
understanding of what driving truly requires.
It is such a complicated and risky process that we take so lightly. In
With all this technology
being neatly built-in to our cars, we only end up throwing more caution to the
wind. Which I feel is going to end up
where we’re driving completely naked, so to speak. It doesn’t help that populations all over the
world only continue to get larger, as each society tries to fix the problems
they have, by the time they have come up with a solution it has become out
dated because the population and problems have doubled. I think we’re all thinking too small in that
we’re trying to fix yesterday today, when we should be working today to fix
tomorrow.
Within each given society
they need to come up with an agreement on the terms of what needs to be
corrected. They need to identify the
problems, agree that those are problems, and then decide o how to act upon
it. Sometimes you can’t always expect
the leaders to be the men and women of today.
Sometimes you need to have the boys and girls of tomorrow take the first
step and lead by example. Teach the
children and the children will teach us.
It is harder to change the world when it’s already started on the wrong
foot, than it would be to help the next generation put the correct foot forward
to begin with.
(e) Discuss the solutions offered by Dr. Leon
James (www.DrDriving.org). What likelihood is there that his approach
will be adopted? Explain.
I think that that is a
brilliant idea. And the reason that I am
so enthusiastic is because I know that it works, because I do this when I’m
driving. If people were able to keep the
appropriate distances between cars we wouldn’t have to deal with a five mile
long accordion affect. This accordion
occurs when someone has to slow down in order to let some one into their lane,
which causes the hundred of people behind them to apply their breaks in a
domino affect. Having just lost their
momentum, it takes up at least a minute for the person who just entered the
lane to get up to speed, as well as another minute for everyone behind them to
catch up.
If you think about it, if you
were to have one person cut for every mile you travel, and you were traveling
ten miles in traffic, you would have spent twenty extra minutes on catch up
time alone. Twenty minutes!
Despite the brilliance and
obviousness of this solution, I am not sure how many people would be willing to
adopt this modification. Other than
myself, I don’t see anyone else keeping any space between the person in front
and themselves. It feels like everyone
is driving for themselves and doesn’t want to give any space for fear of it
being taken advantage of. I would hope
that something so simple could be done, but the reality is that people are
resistant to change.
The Question I am answering is
Question 7.
(a) Our textbook Road Rage
and Aggressive Driving has exercises in several chapters. Do the following
four exercises: (i) Exercise on scenario analysis on
p. 129; (ii) Exercise on self-assessment on p.134; (iii) Exercise on
identifying assumptions on p. 131; and (iv) Exercise
on negative vs. positive driving on p. 122. (b) What were your reactions to the
exercises? (c) Discuss how these exercises help you to become more aware of
yourself as a driver. (d) Do some of the exercises
with another driver you know. How do they help you understand some principles
of driving psychology mentioned in the book? (e) Any other comments you wish to
make.
(a) The following exercises are located
in Road Rage and Aggressive Driving.
Given a statement from each
oppositional symptom area I will designate the subjective and objective parts
of the statement, as well as identify the wrong assumptions made. Then I will discuss the associated remedies
and benefits of these remedies.
Oppositional Symptom: Obsessing about slow traffic
Statement: “What a royal waste of my time—I can’t stand this
waiting!”
The waiting in traffic may be a waste
of time, making this part of the statement true and objective. But it is not a “royal” waste, due to the
fact that there are many more worse things that you could be doing that wastes
you time just as much or even more. So
it is wrong to assume that your time is wasting away in the worst possible
manner. You are also absolutely able to
stand waiting in traffic, because you’re doing it at the moment. Whether or not you want to be is a different
story.
Identify the true problems that
underlie the surface ones. Are you
obsessing over slow traffic because you’re pressed for time? If so, manage your time better so that you
can have the allotted amount of time needed for your travel. If even after this adjustment you still find
yourself rushing out of habit, distract yourself by listening to calm music or
just enjoying the ride along with the scenery it provides. With these modifications you can put yourself
in a more positive mindset so as that you don’t always have to dread any drive.
Oppositional Symptom: Feeling combative with self righteous indignation
Statement: “I don’t deserve to be pushed around!”
Your right about no one deserving to
be pushed around (objective), but the error lies in that you assume that you’re
the only person getting pushed around (subjective). The truth is that everyone is getting pushed
on the road. Think about what really
made you angry. Was it the fact that
what that driver did was unsafe and/or disrespectful?
If it was because of safety, then recognize that and
make sure that you are a safer driver and don’t repeat such actions to anyone
else. If was because of respect,
acknowledge the fact that the whole world is not going to bow to your
feet. Instead you can make up an excuse
for these drivers’ actions or make funny animal noises to yourself. This will distract you from overreacting, and
help you stay focused on the task at hand.
Oppositional Symptom: Feeling excessively competitive
Statement: “How come that lane is faster than this one?”
There are many factors in which can
attribute to the swiftness of each lane.
For instance, the amount of cars in it, where it is located, the
condition of the road, what type of driver is in it, and etc. The lane isn’t necessarily faster, it happens
to be different in a manner from yours, which resulted in its speediness. Understand that when it comes to racing with
cars the only places appropriate for that are affiliated with NASCAR. There is the first assumption in that it is a
race. It is not a race!
Think of why you’re getting
irritable. If it is because you’re
thinking of it as a race, remind yourself that it isn’t. And that wherever it is that you need to will
still be there when you get there.
Remind yourself that it feels good to be civil and helpful. By putting yourself into a calmer state of
mind, you’ll enable yourself to be more aware of what is going on around. Helping to ensure a safer
ride to your destination.
Oppositional Symptom: Being over critical
Statement: “He can’t pay attention to the road if he’s babbling
on the phone.”
Part of this statement is true, in
that someone on the phone pays less attention to the road because of it. But whether or not he is babbling is
unknown. You don’t know what he’s
talking about, he could be a doctor talking someone through an important
procedure. You never know. Don’t worry more about what the person in
front of you is doing in their car, rather than what they’re doing with their
car.
Remember that he’s human and makes
mistakes. And recognize that you too
have been guilty of driving and talking.
And if its really bothering you, you can always
maneuver away from that car. Spending
all that time acknowledging someone else’s distraction turned out to be
distracting you. Handle the problem
appropriately with the given suggestions and refocus your attention o n the
road.
Oppositional Symptom: Love of risk taking
Statement: “I like to go fast, but I’m careful.”
True, you like to go fast
(objective). And you think you’re
careful while you’re doing it (subjective).
But is it really safe when you ever speed? No, that’s why speeding is against the
law! Speeding not only gets you into
trouble, but you can also seriously injure yourself. Understand that the set speed limits are give
to keep you and everyone else safe. So technically even if you think you’re
being careful when you’re speeding, you’re really not.
Acknowledge that the limits that are set
are done so as to keep you safe. Think
about how you would feel if you did something that hurt someone. Or how your loved ones
would feel if something terrible ever happen to you. When you feel yourself feeling the urges to
put the petal to the metal, remember that the choices you make affect everyone
around you.
My
Best Driving Traits According to Myself
1. I have good spacing between the car in front of me and
myself.
2. I use my turn signal.
3. I let people merge or turn left.
4. I show my appreciation.
5. I come to a complete stop where and when necessary
My
Worst Driving Traits According to Myself
1. Speeding
2. Blind spot
3. Make biased comments
4. I study while I’m driving.
5. I don’t wear my seat belt.
My
Best Driving Traits According to My Passenger
1. excellent reaction time
2. smooth driving
3. good at anticipating things that happen
4. always use my turn signal
My
Worst Driving Traits According to My Passenger
1. I hunch over the wheel.
2. I am tense when I drive.
3. I hate stupid drivers.
4. I voice sarcastic comments.
My
Best Driving Traits According to My Passenger
1. I am a smooth driver, no jerking.
2. I use my blinkers.
3. I don’t race any other cars
My
Worst Driving Traits According to My Passenger
1. I do too quick of a head
check.
2. I yell obnoxious comments about other drivers.
3. I fool around with the radio, which makes me loose eye
contact with the road.
One of the first incorrect assumptions
he makes is that because he was not blocking traffic by parking off to the side
instead of in a designated parking spot that he wasn’t in the way of any other
drivers. And because everyone else was
just going around him for the past half of an hour, that he was in no way
hindering the path of any other driver.
Also when approached by the safety officer he neglected to acknowledge
his position or authority, and decided to be rude and disrespectful by honking
in return and later leaving his car to verbally confront the officer. He also thinks that because he only drove his
car a few feet and not a few miles it isn’t considered
driving under the influence.
“I’m angry, scared, outraged! How can they do this to me?”
Vs.
“I feel angry, scared, and outraged when
I think about what could have happened.”
In the first statement there is no
display of any responsibility assumption.
The person is blaming everyone else for their feelings, which says that
they have no control over how he or she may feel. This displayed loss of control can be very
maladaptive in that it could promote this type of thought process to result in
their actions. In the second statement
there is an ownership over their feelings, as well as an acknowledgement of the
things that are triggering such feelings.
Realizing that anger is something that we choose
versus giving into impulse.
“They make me so mad when they do that!”
Vs.
“I make myself so mad when they do
that.”
The first statement is another example
of a lack of ownership over ones feelings, in that there is the blaming of
someone else for the way that person chose to feel in response. In the second statement there is an
acknowledgement on how that person chose
to respond to such actions with that feeling.
Giving away such control over yourself to
something or someone else can be very dangerous when it comes to other times
that may arrive where decisions need to be made.
Being concerned about consequences versus giving into
impulse
“I just want
to give that driver a piece of my mind!
I just want him to know how I feel!”
Vs.
“If I respond
to this provocation, I lose control over the situation. It’s not worth it.”
In the first statement the there is a need for
retaliation for the respect lost from whatever incident that occurred. With also a disregard for the consequences to
follow if one carries out such negative behavior. In the second there is an acknowledgement of
their feeling and an awareness of the destination of the emotionally charged
path one could choose to take.
Considering their options, they make a conscious choice to not head down
such a path.
“They’d better stay out of my way—I’m in
no mood to put up with them! Out of the way folks!”
Vs.
“I wish there was no traffic, but it’s
not up to me. These people have to get
to their destinations too.”
In the first statement there is a total disregards for
the needs of the other drivers. The only
needs that this driver is aware of is his or her own. In the following statement you’re able to see
not only the acknowledgement of the other drivers, but an awareness of their
needs as well. With this awareness come
an appreciation and respect of those needs.
Accepting traffic as collective teamwork versus seeing
it as individual competition
“Driving is about getting ahead. I get a jolt out of beating a red light or
finding the fast lane. It’s me versus
everyone else.”
Vs.
“I try to keep pace with the traffic,
realizing that my movements can slow others down—like switching lanes to get
ahead.”
In the first statement the ideology present is total
egocentrism. The only people
running through their mind is me, myself, and I. In basketball we’d call this person a ball
hog. Their thoughts, feelings, and
actions are totally unsupportive as a result of this self-centeredness. In the next statement there is an attentiveness to needs of the other drivers. Such a thought reflects a supportive
cognitive self, which is probably seen in their feelings and actions as well.
Recognizing the diversity of driver and their needs
and styles versus blaming them for what they choose to do
“How can she be so stupid? She’s talking on the phone instead of paying
attention to the road!”
Vs.
“I need to be careful around drivers
using handheld cellular phones, since they might be distracted.”
In the first statement there is an assumption of the
other persons capabilities, in that they a very low. They assume that the person on the phone does
not have the capacity to multi-task. In
the second statement there is a recognizing of the other drivers choice to talk
on the phone. Which is
then followed by a decision to respect such a choice by being more aware of
their own driving.
“Come on, buddy, speed up or I’ll be on
your tail! Go, go! What’s wrong with you? There’s no one ahead!”
Vs.
“This driver is going slower than I’d
like. Now I can practice the art of
patience and respect for the next few minutes.”
In the first statement you can see the choice that
person makes to become impatient and irritated, as well as the premeditated
unsupportive actions to follow. In the
following statement, the driver recognizes their situation and adapts to it rather
than trying to force the situation to adapt to him/her.
Learning to inhibit the impulse to criticize by
developing a sense of humor versus giving in to impulse
“I can’t stand all these bozos on the
road! They slow down when they should
speed up! They gawk, they crawl;
anything but drive!”
Vs.
“I’m angry. I’m mad.
Therefore I’ll act calm. I’ll
smile and not compete. Already I feel
better. Be my guest; enter ahead.”
In the first statement, the driver criticizes hi
fellow neighbors of the road for the flaws within driving styles and
techniques. It almost seems as though
that they don’t realize that no one is perfect, not even them. In the second statement the driver acknowledges
their feeling, chooses not to act on them, but instead stay calm. And decided to work with
the other drivers not against them.
Taking driving seriously by becoming aware of mistakes
and correcting them versus being uncritical of self
“I’m an excellent driver; assertive and
competent, with a clean accident record and hardly any tickets.’
Vs.
“I monitor myself as a driver and keep a
driving log of my mistakes. I think it’s
important to include thoughts and feelings, not just the overt.”
In the first statement the driver unrealistically
sound in their opinion of the driving. By not acknowledging any of their flaws, they just as well closed
of their mind and learning capacity to new skills or points of views. They’re also unaware of the responsibility
fused with driving. In the following
statement the driver is constantly observant of their driving. They acknowledge their mistakes, as well as
how the affective and cognitive play a role in their decisions.
(b) Reactions to Exercises
I
really liked the exercises, because through them was able to obtain a better
understanding of the power held within our thoughts and feelings. They were kind of confusing at first, but I
was able to get the hang of it faster when there was an example present. I also learned about the many incorrect
assumptions a driver can make about themselves in certain situations. I also feel that I was able to correctly
identify my weaknesses as a driver, because when I spoke with my passengers
they gave me the same answers that I gave myself.
(c) How these exercises help me become a
more aware of myself as a driver
Because
I was able to successfully identify some of my driving weaknesses, I can better
prepare myself to witness and modify them.
I am also now more conscious about the roles thoughts and feelings play
in behavior. And understanding how the
three are intertwined and constantly working together will help me make the
appropriate modifications to the needed area.
(d) Do some of the exercises with
another driver you know. How do they
help you understand some principles of driving psychology mentioned in the
book?
In
talking some of these exercises through with my family I was obtain a fuller
understanding of the ideas from the book being expressed through the
exercises. I needed to be able to
explain the concepts to my family in a manner that they would understand. So I had to get creative in the way that I
would associate things in order to help them grasp it more easily, so as to
keep them motivated to continue working with me on these exercises.
I
had to really engage them and bring them into the material, instead of just
lecturing to them. By helping them
discover the meanings to these concepts, I inadvertently increased my
understanding as well as theirs. I think
that if you really want to understand something, you should try to teach it,
because it forces you to have a genuine understanding.
My Current Generation
On the 24th of
January Dorcas K. Cashman
gave a presented information regarding pages 46-57 in the book titled Road Rage and Aggressive Driving. The three main topics of discussion were the
influences of television and video games, common occasions for expressing
hostility and aggression on highways and streets, and the profile of the
aggressive driver.
She first discusses how our
culture condones the way we express anger and promotes it. And our sensitivity to this type of cruelty
is reducing from the constant exposure to it.
Children watch theses aggressive and bullying behaviors and then act
them out on each other. The graphic
nature and content of our video games are much more intense, with the more
blood and carnage the better. These
interest rate highest within the demographic of males 18-25, which also happens
to be the same demographic with the highest number of traffic fatalities.
There are fifteen different
aspects of traffic which are known to be triggers of stress. They are immobility, restriction, regulation,
lack of personal control, being put in danger, territoriality, diversity,
multitasking, denial, negativity, self serving bias, venting, unpredictability,
isolation, and emotional changes emotional changes. I know that one of my main triggers is being
put into danger. One thing common in all
these stressors is anger.
The average profile of an
aggressive driver is a male under the age of twenty-six. He has a type A
personality, as well as displaced anger or projected rage. Is known to be passive-aggressive, and
display that thru his Jekyll and Hyde personas.
I find this information frightening because my boyfriend is within this
age group and despite how well you think you now someone, you never really know
who they are until you hide in their backseat while they’re driving.
I feel that this presentation
can really be put in to perspective in that it agrees with the theory of
driving, which is disposition plus situation equals theory of driving. Our driving opinion begins forming as we are
exposed to what’s around us in movies, video games, and our peers. This opinion becomes an echo of our
disposition. Given a situation and the
stressors it provides, when we put it together with out disposition, we create
our theory of driving.
*****
On the 28th of
February Amy Beeler presented information regarding pages 151-167 in the book
titled Road Rage and Aggressive Driving. The three topics she discussed were road rage
nursery, teaching a new generation, and children against road rage.
A road rage nursery can be
seen as the backseat of the mini-van that every parent carts their children
in. It’s based on the idea of RR being a
tradition that is passed down from generation to generation. As such behavior displayed by the parents is
seen and mimicked by their children.
Monkey see, monkey do. For the
decade and a half before they get behind the wheel, the values displayed before
them by their parents is carefully studied and reproduced when it comes to
their turn to take the wheel.
In teaching a new generation,
focus needs to be put on how children learn to interact with drivers on the
road while they’re still very young passengers.
It’s much easier to begin a good habit than to break an old one. We need to help them develop their emotional
intelligence by displaying ours and rewarding theirs. Children are always watching and learning,
which leaves me to believe that maybe it is us who should be on our best
behavior.
Children against road rage
(CARR) is an organization that was founded in 1997 which started as a workbook
for children, which was later transformed in to an interactive website that now
collects and promotes a driving psychology curriculum for kids. The site is filled with activities for
parents and teachers to help their children under stand passenger awareness,
supportive driving attitudes and concepts, and etc.
This helps further validate
on the ideas of improving tomorrow today, instead of just worrying about
yesterday today. If we’re to make a
difference, I strongly believe that we have to start earlier. Learn the correct habits, so as to eliminate
the difficult task of breaking a bad habit to learn a new. We can to work smarter,
and not harder if we don’t have to.
*****
Also on the 28th
of February Kyle Takeshima presented information
regarding reference one. His three
topics of discussion were movies and cartoons, commercials/advertisement, and
media/video games.
In his first topic, movies
and cartoons, he discussed movies for children not only contain reckless
driving, but intentions of hurting others with their vehicles, for example 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, and Clueless. There also films which encourage speeding and
exhibit dangerous driving stunts, such as The
Fast and the Furious and Biker Boyz. We can
find reckless and crazy driving in cartoons on television like The Simpsons
and Batman.
In commercials and
advertisements you will almost always see the care that is being advertised
speeding and maneuvering in and out of winding turns. Even if the commercial isn’t selling a car
you would see that for tire, oil, or even soda commercials. Advertisements with speed insinuate that that
is a desired form of power, and it is, but the thing that the companies forget
to include is the responsibility that comes with such power.
Within the video that the
children are playing today, they are teaching themselves how to drive, as well
as learning the idea of actions without consequence. Games in this category are Grand Theft Auto and Need for speed Underground, just to name a few. These games can be fun forms of
entertainment, but can be harmful if there isn’t any reinforcement about how
the reality of the game is completely the opposite of that in real life.
I think that this helps
emphasize the point that the learning process is a long on going thing, and
that it doesn’t stop when your kids jump out of the min van when you get
home. There needs to be constant reinforcement
of the skills and behaviors that one hope to learn and acquire. Its not easy, but
sure is better off in the long run.
Advice for the Future
My advice for all of those
brave souls to wander in to these classes is to make sure you stay on top of
your assignments. There is a lot of
information that’s going to be thrown at you, and by now I’m sure you’ve
figured out that it’s rather challenging.
But stick with it, because in the end you’ll learn more about yourself
in this driving class than you did your 5 years in high school. Don’t tease I know people who were in high
school for five years. (LOL). The best way
to get your work done is to set a goal and plant yourself down in front of the
computer until you get it done. That’s
what I did, and it seemed to work for me.
And don’t be afraid to ask
questions. Ask the professor, ask your
classmates, ask anyone and everyone. Try
to stay positive. For example if you’re
the last to complete your report, you can always look at some one else’s to
better understand what needs to be done. Or if you’re the first one done, don’t stress
if you didn’t have anything to compare it to, because chances are everyone else
is going to copy yours which will make you look like the genius.
So stay positive and keep
your sense of humor. And if you don’t
have much of a sense of humor, develop one quick, because it’s much easier to
going through life with the ability to laugh at yourself.
Class Home Page:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/classhome-g22.htm
My Home Page: