Outline of My Fourth Oral Presentation

Violence Pertaining to Driving

This is a presentation of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving, Dr. Leon James & Dr. Diane Nahl, Prometheus Books, 2000, Pages 46-57

By Justin Golder

Instructions for this oral presentation are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/g22-oral.htm

I. Learning Bad Driving Techniques From TV

A. Television teaches impressionable individuals that, “vigilante behavior, even that which harms others, is virtuous, associated with heroic figures, and easy to do.”

1. Examples: The Rock, Fast and the Furious, Torque

B. Studies show children playing more roughly after watching aggressive behaviors by a bully.

2. Not too much of a stretch to believe that watching bad driving is also absorbed by viewers in much the same way as violence.

C. I like to watch these movies like Fast and the Furious and sometimes when I am driving I find that I go too fast because I feel like I am racing like them.

II. Video Games Teach All The Wrong Kind of Driving Lessons

A. Popular video games are the ones that are most violent. Many of these popular games promote bad driving behavior.

1. Example Carmageddon

B. Most games that involve driving award more points to bad driving behaviors than good ones.

C. My thoughts on these games which I have personally played.

III. Does Driving Arouse Anger?

A. When driving we feel free and independent. However when in traffic these feelings are taken away and replaced with anger.

B. Fifteen conflicting aspects of driving that act as stressors.

1. Immobility, Restriction, Regulation, Diversity, etc.

C. Three sets of factors that influence aggressive driving.

1. Socioenvironmental factors, Mental Illness, and Cultural Habit.

Helpful Links:

http://www.drdriving.org/articles/violence.htm

http://www.rockstargames.com/vicecity/

http://www.smartmotorist.com/rag/rag.htm