Report 2
My Understanding of Driving Psychology
By Aaron Reich
Instructions for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/409a-g24-report2.htm
I am answering Questions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7
The Question I am answering is Question 1
(a) Give a brief review of our two textbooks: Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (James and Nahl), and Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make
Traffic Safer (Peter Rothe, Editor). The reviews should be between 3 and 6
paragraphs for each text.
(b) Select Chapter 8 on Supportive Driving (by James and Nahl) in the
Road Rage book and Chapter 14 on Driving Skills (by Lawrance Lonero) in the
Driving Lessons book. Summarize their content. Be sure to refer to the author's
name(s).
(c) Discuss in what way these ideas can help solve society's driving
problems. Be specific: what are the main problems and how can particular ideas
in these chapters help solve those problems.
(d) Describe any resistance you experience regarding this orientation,
including
(i) the
idea that how you drive is a moral issue of human rights
(ii) the
idea of lifelong driver education and the idea of mandatory participation in
QDC support groups
(e) Describe the reactions of friends when you tell them about driving
personality makeovers
a) Give a brief review of our two textbooks: Road Rage and Aggressive Driving (James and Nahl), and Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer (Peter Rothe, Editor). The Review should be between 3 and 6 paragraphs for each text.
Road Rage and Aggressive Driving by
Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl
Some books are an enjoyable thrill
ride to read but have no practical value, while other books are full of
practical value and yet are nearly impossible to devote attention to. Still other books exist, rare as they might
be, that are as fun to read as they are practical. Road Rage and Aggressive driving is one of
these books. beginning to end, this book
is engaging and very reader friendly. It
is an enjoyable and light read and is full of practical knowledge that is
applicable to all walks of life. In this
concise summary, this book will be reviewed according to its content first and
then according to its style.
Dr.
Leon James begins the book with a personal story of the events that led him
into driving psychology and subsequent publication of the book. This personal disclosure from the author
brings him into a closer relationship with the reader. Dr. James very openly presents his weaker
side and admits that he was an aggressive driver, which tells the reader that
the author is being honest and is just as human as anyone else. Too often in books written by scholars do we
see a very arrogant, know-it-all voice; so this technique of disclosing
weakness by the author immediately drew me further into the book.
The
author’s success story of taking on the challenge of analyzing himself after
numerous complaints from his mother in law and over time pioneering the new
field of driving psychology is both interesting and inspiring.
The
content of the book is organized very well into three main parts, each of which
is divided up into several chapters that focus on the heading of the particular
part. The three main parts are 1) The
Conflict Mentality, 2) Driving Psychology, and 3) The Future of Driving. As one reads through the book, the content
progresses from a focus on aggressive (negative) driving styles to a focus on
supportive (positive) driving styles, and continues into what individuals and
governments can do to encourage such a shift in focus. All throughout the book there are testimonies
submitted from all kinds of drivers that are often entertaining and hilarious,
although sometimes disturbing as well.
Thus,
the content is being delivered from average people, which also helps the reader
relate to what is being said. The author
then comes back and discusses the good and the bad about the testimony. There are also very valuable tables that are
places throughout the text that help the reader to visualize an idea or concept
more clearly. Related ideas are
explained very well and the reader is never lost or left behind. It can be said with certainty that this book
was written in a way that will benefit anyone who reads it; and further, it is
a book that is very easy for anyone to read.
The
style of the book is visually stimulating, almost like a web site on
paper. It is full of bullets, numbering,
italics, changing font sizes, tables, quotations, and references. This non-orthodox style makes it easy going
from one page to another. Instead of
looking several pages of an unchanging style of text, the reader sees a variety
of differences happening with each page.
This encourages him or her to read on.
Further, there are checklists, self-analysis activities, and exercises at
the end of every chapter that are designed to bring the content directly into
the reader’s life.
This
gave the book a “workbook” feel, which is very appropriate for a book whose
major goal is to change the driving style of the reader. Working through these checklists and reading
the content of the book simultaneously is the only way to get the full benefit
of what Road Rage and Aggressive Driving has to offer. Personally, I did most of the activities as I
read through and was surprised at some of their results. Without such activities, it is easy to assume
that one understands the content; however, acting upon this new way of driving
is a whole different story. The book was
written in a very unique and entertaining style.
Both
the content and the style of the book are very contrary to the ordinary and
make this book a great read. I certainly
enjoyed this book a lot, and it was a world of difference from Driving Lessons,
which will be discussed in the next section of this report. I would recommend this book to basically
everyone, and especially those people in my life that are important to me and
drive aggressively. I have no doubt that
this book can save lives and probably already has.
Driving Lessons edited by J. Peter
Rothe
Compilation books are always
interesting reads because of the variance from one chapter to the next. Writing style and content vary from chapter
to chapter because of the variety of authors that contribute to the book. Driving Lessons is a very informative read
and offers several perspectives from experts in the field of driving psychology
and traffic safety. It has a wide range
of subjects and often changes drastically between chapters. In this brief report, I will summarize the
book Driving Lessons according to its organization and the breadth of its
content.
The
book is broken down into three main parts: 1) Personal Sub-Systems, 2)
Institutional Sub-Systems, and 3) Technical Sub-Systems. Each of these parts is composed of several
chapters by different authors, all of which are experts on a specific aspect of
traffic safety. Reading this book
provides one with the “big picture” of what is happening on the highways, from
the individual level all the way to the macro-level, laws and policies that
affect drivers in major ways. The book
is called sub-titled, Exploring Systems that Make Traffic Safer, so there is a
natural focus on the notion of ‘systems.’
This
language is a bit confusing, and seems to technicalize or futurize the realm of
driving, placing it out of the reach of the everyday reader. I am suggesting that the idea of ‘systems’ is
too mechanical and will turn off many readers.
Basically, the idea is that these ‘systems’ are methods that can
contribute to safer traffic.
Once
the reader is able to grasp the concept of systems and move past the initial
confusion he may experience, he will then be delighted by the vast resources
contained within the book. The breadth
of topics is remarkable, and each essay offers a different perspective on the
realm of traffic safety. In the first
section, topics like “How Intimate Social Life Contributes to Risky Driving”,
“Risky Vehicles, Risky Agents,” and “Driving Identities over the Lifespan”
provide deep insight into driving behavior that most lay people are not aware
of.
The
chapters in the first section allow one to realize how complex driving behavior
is and how different each driver is from others. The second section of the book explains
macro-level dynamics, for example, how dispatchers instigate truckers to break
laws, and how driver education in the workplace can be very affective. Once again, the second section makes the
reader aware of factors that contribute to both good and bad driving that he
might have never thought about before.
The third section focuses on futuristic traffic safety inventions, such
as red-light cameras and GIS, and their possible contributions toward safer
traffic.
Like
Road Rage and Aggressive Driving, the other book for this course, Driving
Lessons provides new and powerful insights into the driving arena that were
never part of the reader’s consciousness before. Driving Lessons is extremely informative and
credible, due partially to the wide variety of contributors to the
project. The book draws upon numerous
academic disciplines, including psychology, sociology, engineering, education,
and law to help paint the big picture of traffic.
After
reading this book, one is able to visualize the world of traffic much more
clearly; and if one takes to heart the knowledge and advice offered within, can
become a much safer and conscious driver, and thus a transmitter of positive
driving culture.
(b) Select Chapter 8 on Supportive Driving (by James and Nahl) in the Road Rage book and Chapter 14 on Driving Skills (by Lawrance Lonero) in the Driving Lessons book. Summarize their content. Be sure to refer to the author's name(s).
Chapter 8: Supportive Driving
from Road Rage and Aggressive Driving by Dr. James
and Dr. Nahl
Referred to by the author as the most important chapter
in the book, Chapter 8 focuses on what it means to be a supportive driver; that
is, the polar opposite of the aggressive driver and the role model for drivers
everywhere. If we think of aggressive
driving as what to avoid, supportive driving is what to strive for. For this reason, I think, it is called the
most important chapter in the book.
After breaking down aggressive driving and why it is so problematic,
this chapter offers the contrary model, the inner diamond that will shine after
brushing away the dust of aggressive driving.
In popular media there is
talk of “defensive driving.” According
to the author, this is not as good as most people think because it puts the
driver on the defense and maintains a position of being against other drivers. Supportive driving does away with the “me vs.
them” mentality posited by the defensive driving paradigm.
The chapter begins by
defining supportive driving and explaining its benefits. According to the text, supportive driving is
an accommodating style that emphasizes adjusting to the great diversity of
highway users and steering clear of the emotional entrapments of road rage
thinking. One of the first requirements
to becoming a supportive driver is recognizing the diversity of drivers on the
road and accepting that all drivers are different for good reasons. For example, visitors are slower to recognize
signs that are familiar to local drivers.
Supportive drivers
accommodate them by accepting the reality of unfamiliar drivers, instead of
becoming emotionally upset by their slower driving. Supportive drivers display adaptive thinking
and will also recognize the possibility that a slower driver may be in serious
physical or emotional pain. Supportive
driving supplies the emotional benefit of connecting the driver to his fellow
man and transcending all feelings of isolation.
Simple acts of waving thanks
or letting another go in front can put a smile on someone else’s face, which
may have a domino effect as they go out and make others smile. Those who live their lives believing that
making others smile, or at least trying to and accepting it when people do not,
is an essential human duty are people who are living the good life and are
acting as more spiritually evolved human beings.
Supportive driving has
mental and physical benefits as well.
Mentally, drivers can learn that their initial emotional reactions are
not “law” and they have the mental capacity to see them as transient and bring
themselves to more positive states of mind.
Thus, this kind of driving restructures thinking in a way that allows
people to quickly rise out of negative emotional states. Physiologically, supportive driving helps
contain road rage (both on the part of the driver and other drivers), reduces
stress levels, boosts the immune system, fosters community spirit, protects the
driver from emotional or physical injury, and protects the driver from
financial liability.
Good motorist-to-motorist
communication is an essential part of supportive driving. Drivers who are supportive should be aware of
the appropriate signals and use them when they see other drivers in trouble and
react to them when given by other drivers.
The peace sign, or V for victory, is especially appropriate. The chapter goes into a section about
training for supportive driving, indicating that drivers need to focus on
facilitating the efforts of other drivers rather than competing against them.
Maintaining a supportive
driving style protects one from the road rage of other drivers because he is
committed to helping other drivers, even the ones who drive aggressively. Positive strategies are the only way to
effectively disarm aggressors on the road.
The chapter describes the three driving philosophies: oppositional,
defensive, and supportive.
The supportive driving style
entails having a supportive attitude toward other drivers, having a tolerance
of pluralism, accommodating diversity, shrinking one’s emotional territory,
feeling integrated with the flow of traffic, transforming frustrating traffic
into a community-building opportunity, and practicing lifelong driver
self-improvement. I believe that this
chapter alone can strongly convince and affect peoples’ driving behavior.
Chapter 14: Driving Skill by
from Driving Lessons edited by J. Peter Rothe.
Driving skill pertains primarily to the sensorimotor
domain of driving psychology, although it also encompasses the affective and
cognitive domains, as the three are inseparable. This chapter very thoroughly explains the ten
categories of skill and presents a diagram that displays how each of these
categories interacts with one another.
In this chapter, skill is defined as a learned ability to perform some
task effectively and efficiently.
Driving skill, specifically, is built on a broad foundation of basic
human abilities.
These abilities can be
categorized as mainly human information-processing and have fundamental
limitations. The basic mental, sensory,
and psycho-physical capacities vary greatly between individuals (a concept
covered in the summary of Chapter 8 of RR, above) and within individuals across
time.
Experienced drivers as a group have important skill
advantages over less experienced drivers.
On the road, they are better able to control the vehicle, they do a
variety of tasks efficiently and automatically, they can extract the full
entirety of information from their environment, and they make quick driving
decisions when under pressure.
Essentially, these drivers are unconsciously competent; in other words,
they do not need to think much about what they do. Experienced drivers perform skills
naturally.
This chapter provides
information from a variety of studies.
One such study is research gathered by Mayhew and Simpson, wherein they
identified research support for eight individual traits as being related to
excessive risk of collision for young, inexperienced drivers: steering control,
speed control, parallel processing/multi-tasking, visual search/scanning,
hazard detection, risk assessment, decision-making, and risky lifestyle and
risk-taking. With the exception of the
last trait, the first seven can be thought of as driving skills.
This chapter provides a
table and subsequent descriptions of sensory, mental, and psychomotor functions
that are major components of driver skill. These functions are as follows: knowledge,
attention, detection, perception, evaluation, decision, motor skill,
imagination, motivation, and responsibility.
As the reader continues, each of these skills is described in
detail. Also included in this part of
the chapter is a process model of these skill categories.
It depicts a dynamic
operation of these skills. Attention and
detection work in a circular fashion, and the result of what is attended to and
detected is then processed by the driver’s perception. According to this perception, an evaluation
of the situation is made by the driver.
This evaluation comes from the perception and the knowledge possessed by
the driver and his or her current motivation.
All three of these things effect the evaluation. Upon making an evaluation, a decision is then
made.
The decision is then imposed
upon the imagination, responsibility, and motor skill of the driver and leads
to the outcome of the situation. All of
these skills work hand in hand as the person goes about his everyday driving.
The most important aspect of
this chapter, in my opinion, is that it opens the reader up to realizing
complex driving behavior really is. To
the average person unfamiliar with driving psychology, driving is driving, and it
does not seem that complicated on the surface.
However, when looked at carefully, it is clear that driving behavior and
driving skill is comprised of a multitude of skills that can be broken down and
analyzed. Analysis of the components of
driving skill can greatly improve one’s driving when a person realizes in what
areas he or she needs improvement.
Having a good knowledge of
driving skill and the complexity of the topic allows one to prepare for the
future more effectively.
(c) Discuss in what way these ideas can help solve society's driving problems. Be specific: what are the main problems and how can particular ideas in these chapters help solve those problems.
Let us imagine for a moment that we have a magic wand
and with the flick of a wrist can implant the knowledge of these two chapters
in the brains of drivers all over the world.
What would be the result of such an act of global white magic? I can confidently say that the world would be
a much better place, and it’s not just the roadways that I’m talking
about. A world characterized by
supportive drivers with the greatest of driving skills would be a world with
fewer tears, due to fewer funerals, due to less fatal collisions.
It would be a world of more
money, due to less mechanical and medical bills, due to less injurious
collisions. In such a world, there would
certainly be a lot more people walking around (and of course, driving around)
smiling.
Of course I realize that
this talk of magic wands and implanting knowledge in brains is crazy talk. My intention in painting this imaginary world
is only show how desirable such a world is for all of us, and to suggest that
the information contained within the two chapters summarized above is capable
of effecting profound change if it can ever be accepted and understood on a
global level. The main problems of
driving are that people are driving in selfish and isolated. They are driving with emotional static from
everyday life and taking it out on innocent people.
People are driving in
emotionally ignorant ways and are careless about the feelings of others on the
road. To add to the problem, people are
driving who are not capable of driving in skillful ways, either because of age
(too young or too old) or a variety of other factors. The contemporary world of driving is ridden
with problems, problems that these two chapters, more than anything else I
could imagine, are capable of solving.
As the number of supportive
drivers grows also does the safety of the roadways. People who drive according to the model
presented by Dr. James will be safer themselves and also carry an aura of
safety around them, protecting drivers in their immediate area. They will not selfishly put others in danger
or retaliate on other drivers. These
sorts of behaviors contribute to all sorts of unnecessary collisions. If all drivers were supportive, no one would
be angry while driving. Essentially,
supportive driving would completely eliminate negative experiences while
driving.
The information provided in
Chapter 14: Driving Skills of Driving Lessons is the compliment of the
information from the chapter on supportive driving. Both attitude and physiological skill are
required to reduce accidents and negative experiences on the road. It is not enough to have everyone in a jolly
mood while behind the wheel. There also
needs to be an increased quality of driving skills if we are to see the
problems in the driving world diminished.
Thus, if we combine the positive attitude of the supportive driver with the advanced skills of the skillful driver, and apply that to all drivers across the world, that is the magic formula that will keep a whole lot of people alive. Now, the problem becomes overpopulation, and that is a whole other essay for a whole other class.
(d) Describe any resistance you experience regarding this
orientation, including
- the idea that how you drive is a moral
issue of human rights
- the idea of lifelong driver education
and the idea of mandatory participation in QDC support groups
(i.) the idea that how you drive is a moral issue of
human rights
My
only resistance to the orientation described in the above section C is its far
distance from the ground on which we currently stand, or should I say, from the
way in which we currently drive. I do
not resist it, or refuse it, or think it wrong; however, I question whether
such a change is possible, or if it as I like to say, a magical wish.
Little by little we can make
changes, starting with ourselves, then to our families, and then to those we
work with, those we educate, and perhaps even those we drive by, smile, and
throw a peace sign up to. Easy it is for
me to say, as a student of two compassion-centered disciplines, Psychology and
Religion.
Is it possible for the
disgruntled garbage man to learn to be a supportive driver? Are all people capable of leaving their lives
behind when they get in the car? I mean,
too many people use the driving arena to take their problems out on others, and
I see it unrealistic if not impossible for some people to ever become
supportive drivers. Idealistically, this
would be fantastic! However, we must
keep in mind that there are criminals who drive. Is someone capable of stealing, cheating,
raping, assaulting, or killing going to buy into the idea of supportive
driving?
Or let’s not go so
extreme. Consider your average macho man
guy taking seriously the idea of supportive driving. Great as that might be, I have a hunch he
would be quicker to say, “That’s gay!” and laugh and continue flipping people
off and getting his testosterone and adrenaline rushes when driving. We have learned in driving psychology that
even good people can become monsters due to the isolated and constrained
situation of driving. What then does
this do for people who are already bad?
I think good people can
learn to be supportive drivers, but not all people are good. The day we are all good drivers is the day we
are all good people.
The way we drive is
certainly a moral issue of human rights.
Morality comes into play any time there is an interaction between two or
more people. Because driving involves
the driver and all other drivers around him, it is certainly an issue of
morality. Perhaps the philosophers need
to join the psychologists and begin working on the ethics of driving. However, even then, it will not be until a
top-down mandatory plan is imposed when changes will be seen in the way people
drive.
(ii.) the idea of lifelong driver education and the idea of mandatory participation in QDC support groups
Lifelong driver education is
a must if we are to see the changes in society close to what I presented in my
magic wand analogy. This lifelong driver
education must have some kind of mandatory quality-driving circles if any
positive change in the masses is going to occur. It is not in the scope of this report to lay
out a legislative plan for mandatory QDC’s and who
all is required to go, or how we get those who need to go to go; however, I
will say that it is the only way I can think of to provide everyday people with
the knowledge of Dr. James and other experts of driving and effect a change in
the world of driving that can save lives and improve the quality of life of
those who survive the trip.
(e) Describe the reactions of friends when you
tell them about driving personality makeovers
My friends, being mostly
college students and active thinkers like myself, respond to the idea of
driving personality makeovers positively.
Most of them agree it is an effective way to reconstruct their thinking
about driving. Even my most stubborn
friend eventually agreed that it would be good for him to do one, although I
doubt he will do it on his own. I
encourage him nonetheless as we travel together and get him to pay attention to
his emotions and not be controlled by them.
Like me, my friends think that the idea would be great for everyone but
would not be possible for everyone.
Some people are just too set
in their ways, too ignorant, too dependent on getting their negative emotions
out on the road to consider a driving personality makeover. The main component of such a makeover is the
motivation to change, and certainly there are those out there who simply do not
want to change. However, there is more
hope than despair, is what I can gather from my friends. It is worth trying to get people to perform
makeovers on themselves because some of them will, and that makes it worth
trying.
The Question I am answering is Question 3:
(a) Select three student reports at
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups.
Be sure you put a link to the report you are quoting from. Summarize
what the three students were trying to do, what methods they used, and what
they concluded.
(b) 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?
(c) Now go to some driving newsgroups by Googling the
phrase driving newsgroups. 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 three student reports at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups. Be sure you put a link to the report you are quoting from. Summarize what the three students were trying to do, what methods they used, and what they concluded.
Student 1:
Faith Matsuda –
Attitudes Driving Newsgroups: Examining Perspectives
in Cyberspace
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups21.html
- np1
Faith had designed a very eye-pleasing, easy-to-read,
well-formatted online report that provides her analysis of ten different
newsgroup postings from drivers who have shared their pro-aggressive driving
thoughts. Some of these posts from
drivers seem to be satirical and not intending to be serious; however, Faith
points out that the simple fact that society finds it funny to joke about
harming others for basic driving errors indicates that people have become
desensitized to these kind of violent jokes.
Through her analysis, she
was trying to show that many drivers have disturbing senses of humor
surrounding their driving lives, and that this indicates the collective
desensitization of highway vigilantism.
She is also trying to review the traumatic experiences of some drivers
and explain how the situation could have been prevented.
To demonstrate her points,
she has chosen 10 long posts from a road rage newsgroup, highlights the parts
of the posts that demonstrate affective and cognitive driving errors, points
out the driving skills they have expressed, and explains what could have been
done better.
The method that Faith is
using in this report is case-study analysis.
She takes each post and individually interprets it according to the
driving psychology skills and errors that are present. Being that she too is a student of driving
psychology, I agree with the conclusions she draws from each newsgroup
posting. In fact, her writing style
reminds me of my own, so some of her concluding remarks paralleled my own
thinking almost word for word.
Student 2:
(No Name Provided) - Attitudes Driving Newsgroups:
Danger on the Highway
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups18.html
This student applies the same methodology as student one
described above. His web site design is
not as sharp as the previous student’s page, and his remarks about each post
are considerably shorter; however, there are many points the student makes that
I agree with. He lacks the psychological
terminology presented by other students from this group, but he does present
his opinions clearly and represents a good understanding of the principles of
driving psychology.
Like the previous student,
this student presents ten newsgroup postings and then comments about the pros
and cons of each of them. One new
features of this report is that the student considers the intention of some of
the posters, that is, what was their intention in posting this message? This is indeed an interesting question. Why do people take the time to type out their
stories of being aggressive drivers or being the victim’s of road rage?
Those who post these
messages seem to be either road ragers who believe their behavior is normal and
funny and their stories would be entertaining to others, or people who have
been victims of road rage and want sympathy from others. In any case, it is clear that the experiences
of the posters was emotionally intense and motivated them to take the time and
effort to share with others.
Student 3:
Thaddeus Oba -
Attitudes Driving Newsgroups:
Skills and Techniques for Drivers to Be and Drivers
Now
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups23.html
Thaddeus Oba is yet another student who completed a
newsgroup analysis report. His site is
organized nicely and there is a good usage of colors that make it easier to
navigate. It is still not as easy as the
first student I reviewed in this report, Faith Matsuda, but his site is
well-organized and the content is interesting.
His focus is more on posts from people who intend to inform others about
the dangers of aggressive driving, although there are other examples he
provides of people who demonstrate aggressive driving habits through their
contributions to the newsgroup.
Like the other two students
above, this student applies the case-study method to driving newsgroup posts
from various people, pointing out either their valuable insights into driving
psychology or their absurd and ignorant ideas about driving. He utilizes driving psychology terminology as
he analyzes each post and shares with the reader some important thoughts,
although I do not agree with some of his conclusions.
In his examination of a post
that describes the joy the writer feels playing a road rage video game,
Thaddeus comments that this is a good and healthy way to relieve stress and get
rid of pent up road rage feelings through an imaginary scenario. “I believe that this proposal (of road rage
video games) is great for all of society because it would promote less
aggression on the road through displacement to the video game.” On the contrary, I do not think video games like
this would ever reduce aggressive driving, instead I believe games like this
further desensitize the driver and train him to behave aggressively in reality.
(b) 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?
In doing these reports, each student increased his or
her knowledge of the thoughts of average drivers, especially those drivers who
desire to share their experiences with others.
These students also gained insight into their own philosophy of driving
psychology; that is, their ideas about what is good and bad driving behavior
and what contributes to becoming a less aggressive driver. Their method of case-study analysis is appropriate
for the time of research they are doing; however, as a psychology student I
know that they can not draw any conclusive data out of these case studies. Any trends found in the case studies can not
be generalized because of the nature of case study research.
I
agree with most but not all of their explanations and opinions about the
drivers they are analyzing. For example,
in Faith Matsuda’s report, I agree with her comment on Newsgroup Posting 3
about not generalizing driving skills according to ethnic groups. She states that she “vehemently disagree(s)
with generalizing the experiences with a "few" uneducated drivers to
the entire population of that ethnicity.”
Actually, I agree with most of her explanations and opinions about the
newsgroup posting she chose. On the
other hand, I found some of Student 3’s explanations to be too simple, and I
feel that he chose short newsgroups posting compared to others.
These
reports do not particularly influence my own ideas about driving. Having worked hard in this course in driving
psychology, I have developed a strong driving psychology philosophy of my
own. I have solidified some of my own
insights gained from the study of driving psychology through comparing my thoughts
with the thoughts of these students and agreeing or disagreeing. This was a worthwhile activity because it
allowed me to see the understanding of driving psychology of students from
previous generations of this course.
I
have to say that I feel that I have a good understanding of driving psychology,
I am open to learning more in the field; however, I prefer to learn from
professionals rather than former students.
Of the three students I reviewed, I learned the most from Student 1. Her report matched close to my own writing
style and there were many times that I felt reassured that someone else felt
the same way about the issues she raised as I do. Looking over the posts in the newsgroups
reminds both me and former generations of students that aggressive driving is a
very real and very prevalent problem in our society.
(c) Now go to some driving newsgroups by
Googling the phrase driving newsgroups. 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?
With some initial
difficulty, I found several newsgroups on driving. I had to explore some of the previous
generations to discover that www.dejanews.com
is a great search engine for newsgroups.
I have explored several and found that there are still examples of
aggressive driving happening all over the world, from
It
is rather frightening to think that the road rage epidemic has not gotten any
better, even with all the work being done by Dr. Leon James and other driving
psychologists in the world. At least,
that is the impression I get from looking over the driving newsgroups. The newsgroups I looked at are: 1) road rage
freeway driver automobile accidents from mad angry drivers, and 2) ca.driving (
This research in newsgroups has been shocking. The road rage epidemic is as huge as it is a
personal problem; there is no one who has not been affected by it.
The
Question I am answering is Question 4:
(a) Consider Table 5 in the Lecture Notes, in the Section on Driving Psychology Theory and Charts at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/409a-g24-lecture-notes.htm#Charts Read the article from which the Table was taken. Copy and paste the table into your file. Describe the Table in your own words: what is for, what it says, what it shows.
(b)
Copy the Table again and paste it again. But this time delete the examples in
each cell and replace them with your own examples that you make up. Title this
Section: My Version of the Table. Explain what your table shows and how you
came up with it. Discuss your Table with friends. Summarize their reactions.
Summarize your reactions to their reactions.
(c)
Discuss why driving is such a big problem in all societies and why no effective
solutions have yet been found for them. Refer to our two textbooks for examples
of some of the world wide problems and solutions proposed. Be sure to refer to
the author and page numbers. What
likelihood is there that his approach will be adopted? Explain.
(a)
Consider Table 5 in the Lecture Notes, in the Section on Driving Psychology
Theory and Charts at
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/409a-g24-lecture-notes.htm#Charts Read the article from which the Table was
taken. Copy and paste the table into your file. Describe the Table in your own
words: what is for, what it says, what it shows.
|
The above comes from: www.drdriving.org/articles/driving_psy.htm
The table above clearly demonstrates the dichotomy of
aggressive driving vs. supportive driving and the thoughts and feelings that
characterize each realm of behavior. It
is explicitly pointed out in this table that aggressive driving is NOT
emotionally intelligent and can also be called “reptilian” because it mostly
involves the more primitive parts of the human brain. Likewise, supportive driving is emotionally
intelligent and is also called “cortical” because it mostly involves the more
advanced parts of the human brain.
This distinction is important to understand, and is a
motivational force for people who want to better themselves and be more full
and completely human. All behaviors that
are reptilian in nature are undesirable and all people should strive to use
their higher brain regions in all aspects of life. This table shows that any action taken in
driving has a clear and opposite action.
Any aggressive behavior has a corresponding supportive behavior that can
be substituted with a conscious attitude adjustment.
This table clearly shows the superiority of
supportive driving, both according to ethical standards and brain
functioning. Aggressive driving is
called reptilian, unintelligent, impulsive, negative, selfish, and animalistic. On the other hand, supportive driving is
cortical, intelligent, well-thought out, positive, and harmonious. For someone to understand this table and
still drive aggressively would be for them to consciously choose to be stupid
and immature. Indeed, it is hard for
someone to understand this fundamental idea and go on being an aggressive
driver.
By studying this table, we can realize that driving
aggressively is a choice: it is the choice to give in to our initial emotions
and not even attempt to use our higher human capacities. Indeed, it is one thing to understand the
table and another to put the ideas presented into practice, but the motivation
to change is the only required component.
The dedication to change will come naturally after making the choice to
change. The examples in the table are
helpful because all drivers have experienced feelings on either sides at one
time or another.
(b) Copy the Table again and paste it again. But this time delete the examples in each cell and replace them with your own examples that you make up. Title this Section: My Version of the Table. Explain what your table shows and how you came up with it. Discuss your Table with friends. Summarize their reactions. Summarize your reactions to their reactions.
My Version of the Table
|
My version of the table shows essentially the same
thing as the original version, except with different examples, so perhaps
others can relate to one version better than the other due to the
examples. I came up with these examples
by applying my knowledge of driving psychology and thinking of scenarios for
each circumstance (1-10). I followed the
original examples to help me create my own examples.
After showing my version of the table to some of my
friends, they felt that the table was very self-explanatory. I explained the underlying principles to
them, and they all agreed it clearly shows what I’m trying to relate. They wanted to know more about the terms
“reptilian” and “cortical,” so I explained them.
One of my friends said it seemed like the emotionally
intelligent drivers keep their feelings to themselves and recognize they can
adjust their own attitudes, while the non-emotionally intelligent drivers
impulsively blame other people for any problems around them. They felt the reptilian drivers were more
egotistical and demanding.
I am not surprised that my friends understood my
version of the table so well. The table
is very clear and self-explanatory, and its use of examples helps people relate
to either side of the dichotomy at hand.
Their insight about reflection as being characteristic of the cortical
driver and being impulsive is characteristic of the reptilian driver is dead-on
accurate. I think this table is very
clear and that any educated person should understand it well.
(c) Discuss why driving is such a big problem in all societies and why no effective solutions have yet been found for them. Refer to our two textbooks for examples of some of the world wide problems and solutions proposed. Be sure to refer to the author and page numbers. What likelihood is there that his approach will be adopted? Explain.
I have already addressed this problem previously in
this report, but I will now be even more thorough in my explanation and provide
an example of the cause and proposed solution from Dr. Leon James’ book. Driving is such a big problem in all
societies for two main reasons, both of which are very complex and involve
further explanation. First, there is a
worldwide culture of disrespect that continues to prosper. And second, the environment of driving
involves several factors that generate hostility and anger.
Not just in
Dr. James also mentions several books that signify
that society is currently in an “age of rage.”
These book titles include The Culture of Rage, The Culture of Criticism,
The Culture of Violence, The Culture of Disrespect, The Culture of Aggression,
The Culture of Cynicism, The Culture of Fear, and The Argument Culture. Books like these indicate there is a
worldwide problem of disrespect and aggression.
Now, the question becomes, “Why is this the case?”
It’s hard to say exactly why disrespect has become
more prevalent in the world. It could be
the result of technology and people needing to depend on each other less than
in the past. There has always been
violence and war and hate; however, this common normality of rage and anger
toward others is a phenomenon of contemporary society. An explanation for this is not within the
scope of this essay; I will only say that this is one of the main contributing
factors to the problem of aggressive driving.
Second, in addition to disrespecting others becoming
a normal behavior, the immediate environment of driving increases negative
emotions and make it more likely for people to be angry. Dr. James explains this on pages 52-57 in
Road Rage and Aggressive Driving in a section titled, “Why Driving Arouses
Anger.” In this section he points out
several factors that explain why driving arouses anger.
These factors are: immobility, restriction, regulation,
lack of personal control, being put in danger, territoriality, diversity,
multi-tasking, denial, negativity, self-serving bias, venting,
unpredictability, isolation, and emotional challenges. He explains each of these thoroughly in the
text; for now I will just mention these factors. Each of these things makes the act of driving
bring about anger.
The combination of rage and aggression becoming
normal and the anger-arousing aspects of driving are the two main causes of the
road rage epidemic in the world. Many
things have been proposed as solutions to the problem, and one in particular is
Dr. James’ idea of Quality Driving Circles.
Hypothetically, if all people worldwide were required to go to a driving
meeting once a week where they shared their experiences and were coached on
supportive driving, there would be a decrease in road rage related
collisions.
I do not believe it is likely that this approach will
be adopted because there is not enough support from powerful people. If somehow Congress could be convinced that
this would reverse the problem of road rage and reduce the annual death rate
due to collisions, then I do believe QDC’s could be adopted and they would
certainly make a big difference. It will
not be until some powerful people fully support QDC’s and the principles of
driving psychology when this will ever re-shape the world of driving.
The Question I am answering is Question 5:
(a) Our textbook Road
Rage and Aggressive Driving has checklist exercises in several chapters. 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 your reactions to each exercise? How do you
explain your answers? You can give your answers in their entirety or you can
make selections. What do they show about your driving personality? Where did
you get this style of reacting and driving? Discuss how these exercises help
you to become more aware of yourself as a driver.
(c) 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? Discuss and
illustrate with specific examples.
(a) Our textbook Road
Rage and Aggressive Driving has checklist exercises in several chapters. 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 your reactions to each exercise? How do you explain your answers? You can give your answers in their entirety or you can make selections. What do they show about your driving personality? Where did you get this style of reacting and driving? Discuss how these exercises help you to become more aware of yourself as a driver.
(i) Exercise on Aggressive
Thoughts and Feelings on p. 65-66
This is an excellent exercise for people to become
more aware of their levels o aggression.
Aggressive driving is the result of unconscious conditioning; and activities
like these bring unconscious thought patterns to the front of the mind, where
they can be examined and worked through.
Many of these behaviors are performed by people without thinking
anything of it, but when it’s written in plain English before one’s eyes, he or
she begins to think about the morality of such behavior.
Of the twenty-seven possible selections for this
section on aggressive thoughts and feelings (the higher the number the greater
the amount of aggressive thoughts), there were five that I selected as
applicable to me. I will list these five
below:
3. When
drivers become aggressive by tailgating me, I enjoy slowing down to pay them
back.
4. When I’m
under stress due to work, I get very edgy and take it out on other drivers.
9.
I get nasty
thoughts about drivers who force their way into my lane, especially without
signaling.
21. I enjoy loud,
fast music while I drive – lets me feel free!
25. When I’m tired
I become less alert, but I still need to drive.
I have no choice.
Personally, I think that five is not too bad,
although there is still room for improvement in my driving personality. The first choice I have listed above, number three, is actually one of the many things I have improved
through this course, but I still listed it because I have reoccurring feelings
of “brake jobbing” tailgaters, although I do not act on them anymore. As for question number four, I do show signs
of anger toward other drivers when I’m under stress or having a bad day.
Fortunately, I just cuss at them in my car and don’t
actually use physical force on other drivers.
Taking things out on other drivers just keeps me in a negative state of
mind, which is a mood that can be addicting at times.
When other drivers put me, my family, or my friends
in danger, I do have very nasty thoughts about them (Selection 9). Having gone through this life course in
driving psychology, I do not act on my nasty thoughts. I call it a life course because this class
has drastically improved the way I drive, and I am now living the new knowledge
I have learned. Still, I cuss loudly at
other drivers when they put me in danger and sometimes say crazy things.
This is something I hope to change by the time I have
children. I would like to remain calm
and explain to my children that what the other driver did was very dangerous,
but I do not want other drivers to have control over my emotions.
Ever since I began driving at age 16, my car became
my favorite place to listen to music (Selection 21). This became ever more true on my seventeenth
birthday when I got two 10'’ sub woofers in my trunk, making my car a
mini-sound studio. Some of my fondest
memories involve driving with my friends and rapping along to our favorite
underground music. Music was something
that strongly connected my friends and me; we listened to rare and underground
music that we felt gave us a sense of identity.
In my high school years, there were very few times
when I wasn’t listening to loud music in my car. When I drive now (I drive my friends’ cars
because I do not currently own a car), it is nostalgic to listen to my favorite
songs on high volume, and I hope to get another car with a great sound system
one day. I do not feel this impairs my
driving skills at all.
Selection 25 is one I think everyone relates to. There are times when I wake up early in the
morning and have to drive to class or work and am extremely exhausted but still
have to drive anyway. Unfortunately,
this is an inevitable part of life.
After taking this class, I know that driving tired is a form of
aggressive driving, and now I do my best to wake up earlier and have some
coffee before I drive. I do not think
most people realize that driving tired is a passive form of aggressive driving.
These particular behaviors have become parts of my driving
personality through cultural conditioning; that is, from observing my parents,
my peers, the movies, and media, during the course of my life. I can not pinpoint the exact experience that
any one of these behaviors derived from; but I can be certain that they have
resulted from social conditioning throughout my life. I do not feel that any of them are in the
“red zone” of aggressive driving, but indeed, my course in driving psychology
doesn’t stop when classes are over.
(ii.)
Exercise on Are You an Aggressive Competitor on p. 104-5
This
particular activity is interesting because it makes people aware of their
competitive natures acquired through living in contemporary society (an almost
unavoidable personality trait in this day and age). Specifically, this exercise addresses the
personality trait of competitiveness in regards to driving. As an American, I am raised to be
competitive, and it is no surprise that I would display some competitiveness in
my driving, as all other people do. Once
again, I appreciate the ability of this exercise to bring unconscious behavior
patterns to the conscious mind to be understood and eventually changed.
Of the ten possible selections, there were three in
this section that I could relate to.
These are:
2. I’ve
discovered that I can force my way into any lane by being pushy.
3. I believe
in the law that prevails on the road is the law of the jungle - we might as
well face it: The most aggressive drivers end up getting what they want.
10. As the
streets are getting more crowded, drivers make each other angry. It’s a competitive situation and I can’t
afford to worry too much about how my driving makes others angry because we all
make each other angry.
Being a serious student of driving psychology, I
believe my explanations to my responses above will be different from most. I chose selection two because there are times
that unless I gradually force my way into a turn or into another lane then I
would never leave the street I’m on or never be able to get over to my
exit. I do my best to avoid forcing my
way into other lanes on the freeways, and instead plan to be in the lane I need
to be in well in advance.
However, there are always exceptions, and times when
I need to get over to the right quickly to exit. I never risk a collision, but there have been
times I have to force my way into a big line of traffic.
I chose selection three not because I’m an aggressive
driver and get whatever I want, but because I do believe that most people
comply with the aggressive drivers just to avoid getting themselves in
danger. After all, one of the most
important concepts we have learned in driving psychology is to get out of the
way of speeders and tailgaters - essentially, we are trained to ignore
aggressive drivers. That being the case,
it is certainly true that the aggressive drivers get what they want. However, murderers and robbers get what they
want, but that still doesn’t make it a virtuous thing to do. Like the old saying goes, “nice guys finish
last.”
I chose selection ten because as a driver and as a
person I need to worry about myself and my own feelings more than the feelings
of others. I try to be altruistic
whenever it is in my power to do so; however, all people essentially look out
for themselves first. When driving, I do
my best to not anger other drivers, but I can’t worry too much about it because
someone out there will always be upset about one thing or another. In other words, I do my best to drive with
compassion, yet it is inevitable that I will still anger other drivers. We can’t please everybody; we can only do our
best, and never consciously hurt anyone.
The behaviors explained above have become part of my
driving personality through the social process of learning to compete with
others that is so prevalent in American culture. Growing up learning to be the top of my
class, the first place competitor, the most popular, etc., have all influenced
the way I drive in subtle ways.
Fortunately, I never became a competition junky, so I do not try to race
other drivers at stop lights or feel that driving is a big competition in
general.
However, I do display some competitive traits, as I
think all Americans do, and this naturally comes across in my driving
behavior. Exercises such as these remind
me that there is a lot about my driving personality that is automatic, and it
takes a great deal of work to improve oneself and transcend our competitive
natures.
(iii.)
Exercise on Positive Driving Behaviors on p. 212-3
This
particular exercise not only makes people aware of what they are willing to do
to become positive drivers, it also educates people as to what specific
behaviors are positive. Studying these
behaviors and consciously trying to cultivate them are integral parts of being
a supportive driver.
I think both types of exercises are necessary for
drivers, and the order should be the same as they appear in the book; that is,
first people need to be aware of their unconscious aggressive driving habits,
and then should be educated of the alternative positive driving behaviors they
can and should adopt.
In completing this exercise myself, I selected all
fourteen choices as things I would like to adopt into my own driving
personality. In all aspects of my life,
I look out for other people and try to be as selfless as is in my power to do,
so it is naturally for me to see these behaviors as the ideal way to
drive. This may be different for others,
and as I have explained above in this report, I do not think there will ever be
a day when all people drive this way.
However, this does not mean that I should not do my
best to cultivate these behaviors. As of
now, I already practice most of these behaviors, and I am aware of the ones
that I still need to practice more.
My natural motivation to become a positive driver
comes mostly from the virtues instilled upon me from my mother. I was raised according to virtue ethics: my
mom was always telling me to be honest, show integrity, be kind, and that every
day and every moment counts. I have her
to thank for my compassionate disposition and for having this sense that
positive driving is the only true way to drive.
To drive any other way seems unnatural to me. Any aggressive driving that I am responsible
for, especially after this course, is not out of malicious intent for
others. Rather, it is due to my own lack
of skill (I haven’t driven regularly in almost four years) or my own desire to
be mad at the world, which I keep to myself.
his activity has shown me that I have a natural desire
to cultivate a positive driving attitude.
To me, and to experts of driving psychology, this is great news! Another transmitter of positive driving
energy is out there! This course has
sharpened my skills, and has helped me relate my positive attitude toward
others to the realm of driving. This
exercise in particular has helped me to build an internal framework of specific
positive driving behaviors.
(iv.)
Exercise on Your
This
exercise is designed to provide people with information about what behaviors
are considered passive aggressive driving.
Like the other exercises, the person going through this list of ten
behaviors may do several of them every day but think nothing of it. This exercise lets them know that acting in
this manner is not okay; although it may be the norm; these behaviors are bad
for their personality and the harmony of society. This is the first step in becoming a
supportive driver: acknowledging one’s own weaknesses, recognizing these
behaviors are weaknesses.
My responses to this activity were the exact opposite
of the one above on positive driving skills; that is, I did not select a single
one. There are none of these behaviors
that I do, ever. That may sound like an
exaggeration, but I can not imagine myself doing any of these things. There was a time when I would do choice ten,
making gestures and facial expressions at pushy drivers, but after this course
I know it is more intelligent not to act this way. All of these behaviors seem really silly to
me.
Having looked over these selections, it is clear to
me that my natural disposition combined with going through a course in driving
psychology has made it so I look at this list of behaviors like, “For
real? People actually do this?” Of course I know that people do, and I know
why people do; it is just amazing to me, still.
Studying driving psychology has greatly enhanced my driving personality
and I no longer consider these sorts of behaviors.
(c) 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? Discuss and illustrate with specific examples.
My girlfriend Tammy looked over exercise me (Aggressive
Thoughts and Feelings) and exercise III (Positive Driving Behaviors) listed
above. I chose these two for her to look
at because I believe they most clearly demonstrate some of the key principles
of driving psychology, a topic she was already somewhat familiar with having
heard me talk about it a lot during this semester.
She spoke on her thoughts, telling me that it seems
that driving psychology is: “You recognize your bad qualities, or aggressive
driving qualities, and try to replace them with these positive ones.” I told her, “Yea. That’s basically it. Do you think that is easy for people?”
“For some people yes, for others, no.” She agreed that even those unwilling to
change could at least become familiar with driving psychology principles from
looking over these exercises. Whether or
not they choose to change is another story.
With this, I agree with her completely.
Looking at the first assigned exercise, she asked, “So yelling at
passengers for telling you how to drive is aggressive?” I told her, “Yes, we should listen to our
passengers, or else it’s aggressive driving.” She told me that this business with
aggressive driving and road rage is a lot more complicated than she thought.
The Question I am answering is Question
7:
(a) Find 3 road
rage newspaper stories on the Web that give enough detail that you can
reconstruct enough of the interactions to do a scenario analysis of events (you
can use google News for this). The Road Rage and Aggressive Driving book gives
some examples (see the Book Index under "Scenario analysis:. There is also
an example in the Lecture Notes in the Section on Charts at Table 6 -- see
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/409a-g24-lecture-notes.htm#Charts
(b) Try to reconstruct the interactions of each News story you selected by making a list or table of the steps, as illustrated in our textbook. Apply driving psychology principles to explain what's going on and whether this is a necessary or avoidable outcome.
I am using the list-method to breakdown the scenarios
below. I am familiar with the table
method described in the book Road Rage and Aggressive Driving and will apply
the analysis principles in my reviews.
Newspaper Story 1: Suspect sought in
Wal-Mart road rage assault
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/NEWS01/604190329
It is truly sad to read about incident like the one
described in the story above. I chose
this story because it is extreme and seemingly unavoidable. In road rage scenario analysis there are
usually several points where the driver could have done something to avoid
being harmed. However, in this
particular situation, there is only one point where the victim could have
changed his behavior and walked away unharmed.
In the article, it mentions that the aggressive
pick-up truck driver knocked on the victim’s car window and tried to get the
victim out of the car. The victim
refused, and the man began to walk away.
Then, the victim, an 18-year-old boy, got out of the car. The enraged pick-up truck driver turned
around and punched the face of the boy, breaking his cheek bone and eye
socket. The scariest part of all is that
this all took place around 1:30 in the afternoon at a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Apparently, the pick-up truck driver was upset
because he wanted the victim to be driving faster. The victim did the right thing by maintaining
a speed slightly above the speed limit and letting the truck pass him. The point at which the boy went wrong was
when he got out of his car when the aggressive man was in close proximity,
close enough to punch him immediately.
The boy should have waited until he could no longer
see the aggressive man and he would have avoided being harmed. In driving psychology, one of the essential
points to avoid danger is to always expect the worst from other people.
Newspaper Story 2: Road Rage Leads to Beating With Wooden Axe Handle
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/8890722/detail.html
Wow! This is a
classic case of road rage, so much so that I was excited to find all the
elements of a road rage scenario we have learned to breakdown in driving
psychology. It is very obvious from the
details of the story that this could have been avoided had the victim kept his
cool or called the police in the first place.
Instead, he tried to be a vigilante and ended up getting beaten with his
own weapon.
There are two main places that the victim made errors
and ended up in the hospital because of them.
I should mention that this happened only a few days ago (April 22,
2006).
1. The
victim said that once he was in the road, the men in the SUV started yelling
profanities and giving him hand gestures. The victim returned the gestures and
yelled profanities back at the men in the SUV.
Once again, according to driving psychology
principles, we must assume the worst from other people. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THEY WILL REACT. Yes, it is insulting to be yelled profanities
at by three younger guys, but like Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek.” Had the victim just shrugged his shoulders
and drove away, the men in the SUV would likely have not followed him. It is possible that the men in the SUV would
have followed him anyway; however, it is a rule of thumb in driving psychology
that we must never retaliate against drivers who show outward aggression toward
us.
2. The
victim drove north on Depew, stopping at a stop sign at 26th and Depew, when he
saw that the SUV had followed him and all the men had gotten out of the
vehicle.
The victim said that one of the men shouted,
"Come on!" so the victim armed himself with a wooden ax handle that
he kept behind his seat, and confronted the three males.
One of the individuals took the ax handle from the
victim and began beating him, as he fell on the ground, the victim said.
The men were out of the vehicle! He could have easily sped away and called the
police, or drove to a public place and ran inside. This man was pumped up with a classic case of
automotive vigilantism and thought he could take out three guys with his axe
handle. Did he think he was Bruce Lee or
something? Good thing it wasn’t the
whole axe he came out wielding.
The axe-handle was enough to get him beat down and
put into the hospital. It is true that
these men were out of line and wrong; however, justice is not always served by
the hands of the victims. It was
unrealistic, impulsive, and irrational for the 59-year-old man to try and take
on three guys with an axe handle. Unless
he was 1) a kung-fu master, or 2) had a loaded shotgun, he was not going to
beat up three younger men.
News Article 3: Road Rage Leads to Deadly
Accident
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=4684266&nav=menu86_2
I wish there were more to analyze in this scenario,
but after searching for over an hour on both Google and Yahoo, this was the
best article I could find for analysis.
There are only two aspects of this story to point out that could have
been improved to change the situation and avoid problems. Both of these problems are minor, so this is
nothing near as exciting as the last report explained above. I will explain the two points below.
1.
The emotional problem here is that the man was
driving aggressively over a personal matter.
People need to realize that there is NO EXCUSE for aggressive
driving. If there is a personal matter
that is upsetting someone, then the person should wait until he is OK to drive. Driving around aggressively will not make
their personal problem go away; instead, it will end up getting them or other
people killed.
Driving aggressively because of being upset is just
as logically as running through a congested crowd with a butcher knife because
of being upset. It is irrational and
emotionally unintelligent. It would have
been smarter for Mr. Gonzalez to wait until he calmed down before he drove.
2.
Witnesses say Gonzalez was tailgating, speeding, and weaving between
cars, agitating other drivers, including Vince Schoenherr, 45, who was riding
his motorcycle nearby. The two briefly
argued.
Mr. Schoenherr did what he thought was right by
trying to argue with Mr. Gonzalez; however, driving psychology tells us that
this was NOT the right thing to do. If
someone is driving aggressively, he may easily target the first person who
shows resistance to their behavior.
By arguing with this man, Mr. Schoenherr got himself
killed. It would have been smarter for
Mr. Schoenherr to slow down or pull over until the aggressive driver was out of
sight. Driving psychology also tells us
not to try and be the hero. Too many
people try to be heroes and get shot or beaten with an axe handle.
My Report on the Previous Generation
Generation
22
1) Julia Mae Geraghty
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2005/geraghty/409a-g22-report2.htm
I randomly clicked the last name “geraghty” as it
appeared on the list of names for Generation 22, and was surprised to see that
this was the home page of a girl I knew from my first semester at UH. I knew this because her home page featured a
picture of herself, and there she was, Julia!
She and I were acquaintances and both lived in the same dorm building
for our first semesters here at UH. I
imagine she is also graduating this semester.
I look forward to seeing her and telling her I did a summary of her
report for my report.
For her Report 2, Julia also answered five questions. First she carefully explained the essential
tables from the lecture
notes that I have reviewed in my Report
1. Then, she did book reports for
both the same texts that I reported in this report. Her third question was a comparison of Dr.
James’ website www.drdriving.org with www.drivers.com. While it was interesting to read her other
questions to compare her answers with my own, it was interesting to read this
one because I did not answer it and was curious to learn from her about it. At this very moment I suddenly realized the
method to the madness of generational reviews!
For her fourth question she reviewed the reports of
six students from previous generations.
She seems to have gained a lot from reading the reports of these other
students, and she explains her understanding of the concepts that each
discusses. The fifth and final question
she answered was similar to the fifth question of my report, wherein she
describes her experiences with some of the exercises from the book Road Rage and
Aggressive Driving. She did different
exercises than we were assigned, so once again it was a pleasure to read her
experience with them. She talks mostly
about her previous driving experiences and her surprise and disgust with
herself about some responses she had to admit to. I enjoyed her humorous advice to future
generations.
2)
Leanna Bergeron
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2005/bergeron/409a-g22-report2.htm
This student is in the same class as my old friend
Julia. For her report two, she also
answered five questions, although some are different than the ones Julia
answered. I will briefly summarize what
she did in her reports.
She answered Question 1, which I am guessing was a
required question. She decided to
include the actual tables from the lecture
notes, which I found makes it easier for people unfamiliar with them to
understand what she’s talking about. She
does a nice job summarizing the tables and relating them to her own experience
with her husband. For her second
question she also compares the two web sites www.drdriving.org
and www.drivers.com. She explains the differences and similarities
between the two sites, pointing out some different opinions than Julia had
about the two sites.
Her third question was to review the reports of six
students from a previous generation. She
makes it clear what each student’s purpose was by highlighting the text in
red. Throughout her report, Leanna shows
skill with formatting. Her fourth
question was very similar to my question number four; she created her own
version of Table 5 from the lecture notes.
I found her examples humorous and accurate.
I agree with some of her reasons as to why aggressive
driving is such a big problem; however, I feel she is too short and could have
explained more. Her fifth and final
question number seven, which involved her experiences of four exercises from
Dr. James’ book Road Rage and Aggressive Driving. It seems she had a fun time doing the
exercises with her husband and they both learned quite a bit about themselves.
Finally, she reviews some of the presentations given
by her class mates and then offers advice to the future generations.
Generation
23
1)
Kalena Luney
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/luney/luney-report2.htm
Kalena’s report seems very similar to my own and the
reports from Generation 22. She begins
by answering the question about the two textbooks. She summarizes both Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving and Driving Lessons, just as I have done at the beginning of this
report. She breaks down the structure
and organization of both books and provides good basic information about both
of them. She then reviews a chapter from
each, similar to what I have done in this report; however, I felt that the two
chapters I analyzed where more closely related than were the two she reviewed.
Her second question is once again the comparison of
the two websites, www.drdriving.org and www.drivers.com. She points out how some articles on www.drivers.com actually teach visitors how
to speed and beat tickets, which glaringly contrasts with the content of www.drdriving.org. Next, for her third question she analyzes the
reports of three students from Generation 15 and explains what they gained from
doing their reports.
Her fourth question involves creating her own version
of Table 5 from the lecture notes, the same thing I did earlier in this
report. Her formatting is a little
sloppy but her content is good.
Her fifth and final question was to write about her
experiences with some of the exercises from the book Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving. The activities she does are
different than the ones I did. She felt
that she was surprised at some of the aggressive tendencies she had, saying
that she wasn’t previously aware of them.
This helps to verify my own hypothesis that these exercises are
excellent for moving information from the unconscious mind to the conscious
mind.
She concludes her report with a very short review of three
students from previous generations and her advice to the future
generations. Another chapter in this
perpetual online book of driving psychology complete.
2)
Tiffanie Jinbo
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/jinbo/jinbo-409a-g23-report2.htm
Tiffanie’s report is another report that is very
similar to my own in content. She also
does a nice job with formatting, which is why I chose her report to read over
some others from the same generation.
She begins her report by writing the two book reports, one for Road Rage
and Aggressive Driving and one for Driving Lessons. She breaks down the books’ structure like I
did, and was smart to point out the progressive nature Dr. James’ book.
Her next question is the comparison of the two
websites, www.drdriving.org and www.drivers.com. She points out the differences, especially
the commercialism-oriented “.com” versus the research-oriented “.org.”
Her next question was a review of three reports from
students of previous generations. These
reviews are short but one does get a feel for what these reports were
about. Next, she answers the question
about Table 5 from the lecture notes and has her own version with her own
examples, just as I have done in this report.
She did a good job with this, but I think my examples are funnier. She thinks that lack of awareness is the main
reason for the road rage epidemic.
Finally, she answers question 7 in full detail by
listing out all the selections for each exercise and putting an “X” next to the
ones she chose. This helps the
unfamiliar reader see the bigger picture of what she’s talking about. She has some sad experiences to tell about
her father, as well as admitting that she still has a lot of work to do on
herself as a driver. She concludes her
report with a review of a previous generation, reviewing all three at once
instead of individually. She has some
very short advice for future generations.
Advice to Future Generations
“Success or failure depends more
upon attitude than upon capacity.
Successful
men (and women) act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying
something.
Soon
it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel
successful, conduct yourself accordingly,
and you will be amazed at the positive results.” - William James
To all you Grasshoppas seeking advice, I give it to
you freely, with no strings attached. You
must remember that all knowledge comes from within!
1. Take this
course to heart and for real. For
real? For real, real. It would be wise to lighten your course load
to dedicate more time to this course because of the profound change it can have
on your life. Taking this course
seriously could save your life one day.
Seriously!
2. Do you want
to be the 59-year-old guy who tries to beat up three young guys with an axe
handle and ends up in the hospital? Live
and breath the essence of driving psychology, my friend, and you will live a
longer life. Never voluntarily choose to
fight someone over driving.
3. Share the
wealth. Tell your friends about this
stuff. Even if they aren’t psychology
majors, let them in on the things you find most valuable, and you are probably
saving their lives too.
4. Read the
book, the whole book, but not just nothing but the book. Say what?
Read as much as you can. Go to
Dr. James’ website and read extra stuff.
This will help you in writing your reports and your life experience of
driving. Do the book exercises or you
are only getting half of what this course is meant to provide for you.
5. Just
chill. All the instructions seem
intimidating. But sit back, smile, and
just chill. Read one word at a time. It’s really quite easy once you get the hang
of it, and it starts to be fun after a while.
I’m not crazy, either.
6. You are
allowed to use magic if you have to.
This means if you need to wave your hand over the screen in some special
way to help you understand the material, it is okay by university standards.
7. Do your
work in advance. DO NOT WAIT until the
last day to write your report because it is physically impossible. It takes several days of actual typing to
complete one report for this class. This
does not include the time it takes to read and do field research. So start at the beginning and work through it
gradually. Your work will show a
difference because you will be refreshed each time you come to answer a new
question.
8. Be attentive and ask questions in class. Try to stimulate the thoughts of others. One person being interested can have a profound effect on the interest level of other people. Come in that room dancing slightly, pick up your mood for class, it really helps. Some days I have been tired in class and it is not as fun for anyone.
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