Driving Psychology: Theory and Application
by SAYO YOSHINO
A link to Instructions for Your Report 1
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy20/g20lecturenotes409a.htm
1.
Preface
In the first day
of class for my driving psychology course, professor
James informed us that there are more than 40,000 deaths per year, 6 million
crash injuries per year, 100 billion aggressive driving exchanges per day and
an unknown number of human suffering caused by driving stress. I was struck by the fact that huge numbers of
people are involved in unfortunate driving incidents. Since driving cars is a necessary part of our
life nowadays, it is inevitable that the population of car users continues to
grow every year. In order to change the
statistical data which was stated earlier, a study of driving psychology is
important.
There are three
basic principles in driving psychology:
1. Driving is a
complicated habit which involves cultural norm behavior
2. Driving habits
can be divided into three domains which are affective, cognitive and sensorimotor
3. Driving habits
can be influenced by parents, friends and media
It is very
exciting for me to be a student in the generation 20 of Driving Psychology
course. This is the first time ever in
my life to learn about driving psychology and how to publish my own web page. Hence, I am feeling like I am starting a new
journey in the psychology field and the informational technology field. I have been surprised about my professor, Dr.
Leon James’s research findings and all prior generational students’ deep
understanding and hard work about the topic of driving psychology. In contrast to my professor and most prior
generations of students, my understanding of driving psychology is still
immature as I have yet to learn how to drive.
Through this semester, hopefully, I will gain knowledge in driving
psychology that will help my future driving career and other people in this
society.
Here are 3
students’ reports which caught my attention while I was exploring all prior
generational web pages in driving psychology.
1.
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as99/manibusan/report3.html
①
Title: Definitions of
Traffic Psychology: What A Driver Knows by a G10 student
②
Summary:
The students gathered
definitions of either driving psychology or traffic psychology from 5 different
generational student reports. For
instance, one student’s definition about driving psychology is concerned about
cognitive side of driving behavior. She
emphasizes the importance of understanding how people think from different
perspective, such as driver, passenger, cyclist.
The other student
describes the definition of driving psychology in very simple term which is
study of a person while driving. Based
on the simple definition, contents of driving psychology becomes broad in depth
because she mentions each individual difference in driving, importance of
caring other people while driving and external effect that shaped an
individual.
One of the
students explains the definition of traffic psychology. It introduces behavioral principles that are
useful to apply to each individual in traffic situations not only driving but
also bicycling, walking and so on.
③
Comment:
By reading the
student’s report, I felt that traffic psychology includes all the
transportations we can think of such as driving, bicycling and walking whereas
driving psychology is more focusing on car driving. It was interesting to see how people define a
term slightly differently in words and meaning.
2.
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409bf98/flores/report1flores.html
①
Title: driving personality make-over is it for me? by a G11 student
②
Summary:
Driving personality
make- over is one way to change your driving behavior that would make your
driving career healthy. This method has
3 steps which are
1.
Acknowledging your weak points
2.
Witnessing your short comings
3.
Modifying your behavior to a positive direction step by step
The student
herself tried the method to change her dangerous driving habit that she
positions her vehicle too close to another vehicle when she drives. She was hoping to change her habit with in
one week, but it turned out not. Thus,
she stated that she is continuing her training even though the course is
over. Although changing habit in short
period of time was not easy, she was making difference in her behavior at a
certain degree that was very important not only for her self, but also for
people around her.
③
Comment:
Driving
personality make- over has stated clear steps people can follow when they want
to change weak points in their driving behavior. Like the student in this report, by doing an
actual experience of the method is one way to know and learn how it is
difficult but useful to change one’s acquired behavior.
3.
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/459s97/aschung/aschungreport2.html
①
Title: Managing a
②
Summary:
In order to
manage a
③
Comment:
2.
Introduction
The topic of this
course is driving psychology in which students explore driving behavior mainly
from three perspectives which are affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor.
The purpose of
this course is to gain self- witnessing and self- modification skills that
would be helpful for my driving behavior in the future. Also, as a passenger, these skills would be
useful to check a driver’s behavior and train him or her to become a supportive
driver.
Since I have
never had a driver’s license in my life, I am involved in this topic as a
passenger. I always take a bus to go to school, and sometimes I get a ride from
my parents and friends. Since I have
been a passenger for the whole time, I think my understanding of the passenger
perspective in driving is deeper than my understanding of the driver
perspective.
Definitely the topic
of this course is meaningful for me. In
some degree, I already have built an image about driving through parents,
media, friends and so on. For instance, I have an image that women are
worse drivers than men. The notion came
from my own experience and what my parents say when they drive their cars. By taking this course, I hope I can clear out
the stereotyped image about driving and prepare emotionally for my future
driving. Luckily or not, since I have
never had driving experience, driving itself is not my part of habit, yet. Therefore, I have a lot of potential to be a
supportive driver in the future.
There are many
likely consequences of having taken this course. First, I could gain more knowledge about
emotional aspects in driving. Second, I could be skillful for self- witnessing
and self- modification in the driving area.
In addition, I could learn how to control my emotion in general. Third, for the first time in my life, I could
have opportunity to learn how to make and up load web pages. Fourth, I could not only improve my writing
skills, but may also improve my oral presentation skills throughout this
course. For now, my mission is to become
a skillful trainer for driving behavior.
Also, I will also become a skillful passenger who is supportive for a
driver and understands about a driver’s perspective.
3.
Ten Definitions
(i) The driver's threefold Self
Driving behavior involves whole
personality of an individual. The
individual’s personality (the driver’s threefold
self) can be divided into three parts: affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor. The
characteristic of each part is shown in a chart below.
|
The Driver’s
Threefold Self |
||
|
Affective |
Cognitive |
Sensorimotor |
|
Feelings, motivation,
emotions, attitudes, values |
Thoughts,
reasoning, judgment, knowledge |
Sensation,
perception, vision, fatigue, pain
motor reactions, stress |
|
|
|
|
Understanding all three parts of personality
is important since all of them are interacting each
other while a driver is driving a car. The
driver’s threefold self has been shaped by biology, culture and
socialization. For instance, children
are exposed to driving behavior of parents, adults, media, such as, TV, movies,
magazines, cartoons, commercials.
Above information came
from (Text p196) and (Lecture Notes)
(ii) Self-witnessing methodology
Since driving is automatized habits, it is hard to do accurate driver’s self-
assessment unless objective self- assessment procedures are used. Dr. James and Dr. Nahl
have introduced a method called self- witnessing
one’s threefold self that would help assessing a driver’s behavior. The method is one way to obtain reliable data.
In the method, a driver
speaks to a recorder while one is driving.
The driver reports about external behavior (i.e. things the driver did
or people the driver saw) and internal behavior (i.e. thoughts and feelings). Self- witnessing reports provide on-going
data of a driver unlike interview or written self- assessment scales that
provide retrospective data. After the
recoding, the driver begins analysis of recorded data which shows feelings,
thoughts and perceptions about a particular driving event.
Above information came
from (Lecture Notes) and http://www.drdriving.org/articles/taxonomy.htm
(iii) Road rage
The word “road rage” was spread out by media. There is no formal definition for “road
rage,” but people use the phrase when they are in great anger which leads to
aggressive behavior.
There are many factors
which lead to drivers’ aggressive behavior.
Traffic congestion, feeling endangered, being insulted, frustration,
time pressure, fatigue, competitiveness, and lapses in attention are some of
the example factors.
The term “aggressive driving,” in other words reckless
behavior includes speeding, tailgating and lane hopping. Many people perceive those driving behavior
as just one of the driving styles that is assertive and competitive. There is fine line between “road rage” and
“aggressive driving” in the word usage because society has been using these two
words interchangeably to refer to hostile and illegal driving.
Above information came
from (Text p22)
(iv) Aggressive driving legislation
According to International
Association of chiefs of Police (IACP), aggressive
driving means “commiting a sequence of moving traffic
violations in a short period of time which occur in the presence of other
vehicles and endanger persons and/or property”
Above information came
from http://www.drdriving.org/legislation/teecards.html#officer
Communities are initiating
aggressive enforcement programs to reduce aggressive drivers. At the same time, people hope that their
psychological, spiritual and financial burden can be also reduced.
Above information came
from http://www.drdriving.org/legislation/
Laws for traffic and
aggressive driving are different. Here
is an example of traffic law: since 1970, seat belts, air bags, better break
systems, upper tail lights, and crash- absorbing devices became mandated car
equipment.
Above information came
from (Text 22)
Here
are many examples for aggressive driving:
①
Running traffic lights or signs
②
Driving through a cross-walk occupied by a pedestrian
③
Knocking over traffic signs
④
Cutting drivers off when passing, not allowing someone to
pass safely
⑤
Passing in no-passing zones
⑥
Tailgating
⑦
Driving across highway dividers
⑧
Not yielding at intersections to the driver on the right
when arriving simultaneously
⑨
Not yielding when making left turns
⑩
Not stopping or yielding according to signs
⑪
Incorrectly yielding when entering traffic
⑫
Not taking care to avoid hitting pedestrians
⑬
Turning incorrectly at intersections
⑭
Making unsafe U-turns
⑮
Not signaling before slowing for a turn
⑯
Not stopping at railroad tracks when directed to do so
⑰
Passing stopped school buses when warning lights are
flashing
⑱
Breaking the speed limit
⑲
Driving too slowly when unwarranted
⑳
Exceeding 20 miles-per-hour speed limit when in school
zones and kids are present
21
Speeding in marked construction areas
22
Illegally parking in roadways
23
Illegally parking on bridges, in crosswalks, close to
fire hydrants and driveways
24
Opening vehicle doors unsafely and leaving them open too
long
25
Throwing bottles, nails, wire and other dangerous items
from vehicles
26
Driving with one or more wheels off the road
Above information came
from http://www.drdriving.org/legislation/
(v) The driver's emotional intelligence
Emotional
Intelligence (EI) is the ability to
assess, perceive, understand and manage one’s emotions, thoughts and
actions.
Above information came
from http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409bf2002/robinson/home.htm &
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2002/philbert/report1.htm
According to Goleman,
who is a researcher, emotional intelligence has six components that can be
learned.
1.
how to reappraise a situation and look for alternative
explanations
2.
how to self- regulate negative mood shifts
3.
how to empathize with “the other side”
4.
how to persist in a plan despite distracting
frustrations
5.
how to control or neutralize one’s aggressive impulses
6.
how to think with positive outcome
Anger management
techniques are useful way to control yourself. The techniques can be divided into 2 domains
which are relaxation and mental reappraisal techniques. A Relaxation technique allows you to reduce
physical arousal. Consciously breathing
and relaxing your grip is one of the relaxation techniques. A mental reappraisal technique is useful to
observing your thinking.
Above information came
from (Text 111- 113)
(vi) The driver's emotional spin cycle
The emotional spin cycle occurs in daily bases to
everyone. We go through three basic steps
which are called the threefold self (this
concept is described earlier in this report).
At first, you feel about something (affective). Then, you think about the feeling
(cognitive). Lastly, you try to act out
to the feeling and thinking you had (sensorymotor). There are four options and two bridges we go
through in emotional spin cycle. The
four options are “negative
towards others and the world,” “positive about others and the world,” “negative
about self,” and “positive about self.”
The two bridges are red and blue bridge. A diagram below shows the emotional spin
cycle.
The above diagram works like
this. For instance, if you feel rage
which leads to aggressive behavior, you are in option 1 called “negative towards others
and the world”. Then, you have an option
to go to option 2 called “positive about others and the world” by passing the
red bridge. In this option, you feel resolved, think in an emotionally intelligent way which
leads to supportive behavior.
Above
information came from http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2002/philbert/report1.htm
(vii) Newsgroups for drivers
Newsgroups, where people share their opinions or ideas
about a certain topic, are useful place for people to have broader
perspectives. By
participating in a newsgroup, you realize that there are many people who are in
the same situation, or who are thinking or feeling the same way as you.
Above
information came from http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups13.html#1
In newsgroups, many people discuss about topics which
is related to driving psychology. For
example:
Use of cell
phones in cars;
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups38.html#Newsgroup%20#1
Analysis of rush;
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups2.html
Treatment for road rage;
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/499s2003/newsgroups/newsgroups9.html
(viii) Lifelong driver education
Traditionally, driving education covers limited
area, and the education is far from changing students’ biased image about
driving habit which is exposed by parents, friends and media. Hence, my professor, Dr. Leon James believes
the necessity of teaching driving- psychology for K- 12 school children to prepare
for their future driving.
Once people received their driver’s license, it
does not mean that their driving education is over. It is important for post licensures to
continue their driving education once in a while to getting up date information
about driving.
In addition to taking a driving course, there are
new ways to resist road rage phenomenon:
1.
Practicing
self- witnessing methodology (this concept is described earlier in this report)
2.
Retraining
the “automatic” driving self and habits
3.
Acquiring
emotional intelligence techniques (this concept is
described earlier in this report)
4.
Acquiring
facility in “acting as if”
5.
Practicing
partnership driving (a driving buddy gives you feedback about your driving)
6.
Participating
in
7.
Involving
in the Children Against Road Rage (CARR) with kinds
8.
Learning
the new paradigm of lifelong Driver Self- Improvement
9.
Acquiring
supportive driving styles and passing the appropriate behavior to the next generation
Above
information came from (Text 115- 116)
(ix) Choose your own from anywhere (1) “TEE CARDS”
Dr. Leon James known as DrDriving
is created “TEE CARDS” which stands for Traffic Enforcement Education
Cards. For instance, the card is given
from a law enforcement officer to an aggressive driver since Dr. James believes
that the traffic stop is a starting opportunity for introducing aggressive
driving prevention information. Below
chart is one of the examples of TEE CARDS.
There are many other settings that the TEE CARDS
are distributed to public such as public schools, driving schools, court
mandated classes, quality driving circles, radio campaigns and posters. Also, there are three types of TEE CARDS
which are “DrDriving’s New Video Course”, “Road Rage
and Aggressive Driving” (a book) and “For Law Enforcement Aggressing Driving”
(an aggressive driving course).
Information
above came from http://www.drdriving.org/legislation/teecards.html#officer
&
http://www.drdriving.org/legislation/index.htm
(x) Choose your own from anywhere (2) “Driving
Cartoons”
http://www.nick.com/games/game.jhtml?game-name=ss_spongebob
“Driving Cartoons,” which is a topic of driving,
is one way to teach driving behavior.
Cartoons have colorful images which stimuli people visually and catch
their attention. Also, cartoons do not
require any special knowledge, so people can easily laugh and enjoy a good
mood. At the same time, they can notice
some possible short comings people experience in driving situations.
Driving
Cartoons can be used for everyone such as driving psychology students,
children, driving school students and present drivers. Since children are future drivers, educating
driving behavior through driving cartoons is a useful approach. If driver’s education manuals were drew in
cartoons style, many people would love to read the book.
Above information came from http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459ss97/jenica/report2.html#2
Here
is a website for Driving Cartoons I found on the internet http://www.grantland.net/driving.htm
4. Autobiographical
Due to the fact
that I do not drive a car, I describe myself as a passenger. My parents drive a car, so the role of my
parents is to give me a ride to wherever I need to go such as a train station,
bus stop, shop and so on. In addition, my
parents’ role is to teach me some points that I should care about if I drove a
car in the future. For instance, in
order to make a turn, I should check left and right side at least twice each. Also, my mother taught me that in order to
have comfortable ride for your self and other passengers, it is better to press
a break paddle gradually rather than pressing it at once. By doing this, nobody would experience
unnecessary shaking while they are in the car.
Once in a while,
I see TV commercials about cars and see various kinds of cars, but I do not
remember any of the commercials. I do
not intentionally watch a TV show which is related to cars such as car
races. That is because at this time I am
not generally interested in cars. Thus,
I think I have not received any stereotypical images about cars through TV
commercials or other car related shows.
However, cartoons catch my attention no matter what since I love to
watch cartoons on TV. Hence, I
spontaneously remember when my favorite cartoon show includes a story about
driving behavior.
Sometimes, my
friends give me a ride to school, shop, beach and so on. However, not many friends of mine have cars, so I have few chances to influence
their driving behavior. Even though I
see my friends’ driving behavior, I am not sure if their behavior will
influence me or not until I drive my car in the future.
As a passenger, I
always put on my seat belt no matter what.
I try not to close sight for a driver when the driver needs to check my
side of view. I also help check my side
of view to make sure no car is there when a driver needs to make a turn to my
side. Otherwise, I enjoy driving as a
passenger. I love to see the view from
the car because the scenery changes rapidly during the ride. While I enjoy seeing the view, I do not
forget to check if the driver is driving properly.
5. Conclusion
This assignment
helped me to identify my personality as a passenger. When I think about my behavior, I can only
recall my good behavior. I think if I
used the self- witnessing method, I would find an aggressive part of myself
while I am in a car. No matter if I am
aggressive or not, seeing congested roads changes my emotion to that of a
stressful state. In such a case, the use
of stress management techniques would help.
Also, this assignment helped me to picture myself as a driver and made
me think about driving and possible future aggressive behavior. Driving psychology seems very useful for all
the generations from children to
elderly throughout the world. Since traditional
driving education covers a limited area especially the technical part of
driving, driving psychology is necessary to teach emotional mechanism and
control strategies. By continuing the
study of driving psychology, hopefully, I will be able to introduce the
knowledge of this field not only for myself but also to the world.
6. Future Generations
Like many prior
generational students also mentioned, keeping up with your work is very
important in this course. There are many
ways to gain knowledge about driving psychology such as from Dr. Leon James’s
home page, articles, all prior generational web pages, internet web sites of
somebody who has done research in driving psychology, as well as text books. There is no word “enough” in this
course.
Since this was my
first experience in making a web page, I did not have any idea how or what to
do. I searched on internet on how to
make a web page. I also found helpful
people in Saunders 635 (a computer lab room).
Talking with classmates is also helpful for this course. And of course, our professor Leon James since
he provides us with a question time at the beginning of the class.
Lastly, Have fun & Enjoy !