Outline of My Fourth Oral Presentation
The Age of Rage
This is a presentation of Road Rage, Pages 32-43, By: Dr. Leon James & Dr. Diane Nahl
By: Malia Tarayao
Instructions for this Oral Presentation are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/g22-oral.htm
a. Surf rage is a new kind of rage that has come about. With surfing such a popular trend these days, there are a lot of surfers in one surf spot at any given time. This can cause conflict with people wanting to get all of the same great waves.
b. My OpinionÉ
á I chose this concept because its something that many people wouldnÕt think about but it is a very real concept and being in Hawaii, one of the surf capitals of the world, it has to be going on out there.
á What was most noticeable to me was the fact that surf rage is not something in one type of person. People from all walks of life surf and surf rage can occur in different types of people from doctors and lawyers to the high schoolers that work at subway.
á My initial reaction to this was IÕm not surprised. It is sad to me though because surfing is supposed to be such a fun and relaxing past time but has been turned into something with rage.
á I donÕt agree with it and wish that it didnÕt exist.
c. Example
á Personal experience: I like to go out and surf on occasion. IÕm not very experienced and not very good, so my main concern is that IÕll get in somebodyÕs way and they might go off on me. That really shouldnÕt be something I need to worry about if IÕm just out there to have some fun. Psychologically, this has turned me off to surfing a little bit and that shouldnÕt be the case.
a. When driving, people can be very emotional, and this is something that needs to be controlled. People need to learn how to monitor their emotions and then be able to keep them under control.
b. My OpinionÉ
á I chose this concept because every driver could use this information. No driver is perfect and can always improve their driving, and more importantly, can improve their emotional reactions to driving and other drivers.
á What was most interesting to me is that people usually have exaggerated beliefs about themselves as drivers. If anyone says anything about their driving, they usually respond with something like, ŌNo wayÉ IÕm an excellent driver!Ķ
á My initial reaction to this was, yeah this sounds familiar, whether it was me personally or IÕve heard it coming from someone else.
á I agree that people are very emotional and may have distorted views about their driving, IÕm sure I do as well.
c. Example
á Cultural significance: if everyone was more aware about their driving emotions, and they could learn to control them better, I think that the roads would be a much safer place.
á For example: When people are on the road, and there is a conflict, people always assume it is the others fault, no one ever takes responsibility for themselves, and people have ill feelings towards the other driver, this causes rage and if it isnÕt taken out on the other driver, it is taken out on someone else somewhere else.
Concept Three:
Protecting yourself from aggressive driving.
a. There are different things you can do to protect yourself. Here are a few ideas: donÕt make obscene gestures, use horn sparingly, donÕt block the passing lane, donÕt tailgate, BE POLITE AND COURTEOUSÉEVEN IF THE OTHER DRIVER ISNÕT, avoid stress leave plenty of time for the trip, listen to soothing music.
b. My OpinionÉ
á I chose this concept because as a driver, you cannot control the other drivers on the road. What you can do is be a driver that doesnÕt set the other drivers off.
á What was most noticeable to me was that as a driver, the most important thing for us is to stay in control of the vehicle and of the situation, and aggressive driving violates this principle because it contributes to more crashes between cars and duels between drivers.
á My initial reaction to this was that if everyone drove with these small things in mind, the roads would be much more pleasant as well as safer.
á I completely agree with this and think everyone should be aware and use these ideas.
c. Example
á I think that the most important concept is to be polite and courteous, even if the other driver isnÕt. The most important part of that is: even if the other driver isnÕt. I think if people are not being polite, they donÕt really expect others to be polite either. If someone else on the road is polite towards them, psychologically, they may be surprised and it could make their day a little better and they may pass that kindness along to someone else.
My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2005/tarayao/home.htm
Additional Links: http://www.drdriving.org/rages/surf.htm
http://mediax.stanford.edu/projects/car_emotion.html