Outline of My Third Oral
Presentation
“Cutting-In and Tailgating”
This is a presentation of Reference
3b by Dustin Telles found at:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f98/telles/report1telles.html
and http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f98/telles/report3telles.html
By Ynhu Le
Instructions for this oral presentation are found at:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/g21-oral.htm
I.
A Cutting-In Self-Modification Experiment (The author of
Reference 3b tried to practice letting people cut in front of him on the
freeway.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
“Self-modification is where you
change the way you do things to a more healthy and prosperous way.”
2.
The author gets mad at people for
trying to cut into his lane from the freeway on-ramp at the last minute. The
purpose of Dustin’s self-modification experiment is to practice giving empathy
to other drivers and to let them cut in front of him on the freeway. [Explain Dustin’s experiment]
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
I’ve been experiencing a similar
problem as Dustin when I’m driving on the freeway.
2.
I think learning how to let other
drivers cut in front of you without you getting mad over it is great. It shows
that you have patience and empathy for others.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
Emotions are contagious therefore, sometimes you have the
power to influence the feelings of other drivers around you without being aware
of it. You wouldn’t want to past on your negative feelings to other drivers on
the road!
2.
Letting another driver cut in
front of you will make that driver feel good which could cause that driver to
be nice to other drivers on the road as well.
D.
Related topic(s) on the web:
II. Tailgating Behaviors (People
tailgate or drive too close to the car in front of them because the reward
outweighs the punishment.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
“Tailgating is an act of
following too close with the intention to coerce or punish another driver when
you think you’ve been wronged.” (Defined by Dr. Leon James)
2.
People could get away with
tailgating others and it makes them feel good when they could get the other
driver to feel uncomfortable and eventually change lanes to get out of their
way.
3.
People tailgate for many reasons
like: trying to make the other driver feel uncomfortable, being in a rush to go
somewhere, trying to prevent other cars from cutting in front of them, etc.
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
I think many of us exhibit
tailgating behaviors when we’re on the road.
2.
I think we should be more aware
that tailgating can increase the risks for us to get into an accident and it
also increases the chance that accidents can be more serious due to the greater
force of the impact.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
Tailgating produces backward traveling traffic waves that
slow traffic down for everybody.
2.
We can eliminate the majority of
traffic waves by maintaining appropriate distances between cars. That way, we
could shorten our commute time and save gas.
D.
Related topic(s) on the web:
III.
Alternatives
to Tailgating (How to deal with tailgaters and how to avoid
tailgating someone.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
The best approach is to simply allow
the tailgater to pass you instead of getting angry or retaliating. Letting the
tailgater pass not only gets you out of the situation, but it will also help
you clear your mind and focus on the road in front of you instead of what’s
happening behind you.
2.
Tailgaters should be aware that
they are violating the rights of others.
3.
Dustin mentioned that it’s not
good to tailgate somebody, but he thinks that it’s alright to tailgate in certain
circumstances where you don’t want other drivers to take advantage of you by
cutting in front of you just to get ahead of traffic.
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
I want to share with you some of
ways to deal with a situation that involves tailgating.
2.
I don’t agree with Dustin when he
says that tailgating someone is alright if you’re trying not to let someone
else cut in front of you to get ahead of traffic.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
Forget pride and forget saving a
few seconds. The best way is to drive safely and sensibly. It’s wrong to
tailgate someone because you’re forcing something onto them that is unwanted
and you’re also putting them at risk.
2.
If you’re being tailgated, don’t
get angry and just concentrate on your own safety.
3.
What not to do: do not brake, do
not use the tactic of gradually slowing and accelerating to annoy the tailgater
into leaving a larger gap, do not try to slow the tailgater down, and so forth.
D.
Related topic(s) on the web:
My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409af2004/le/home.htm