Data Project Report: Self-Witnessing of Driving

Part I

Self-Witnessing

Introduction
In an attempt to practice self-witnessing techniques, I decided to spend some time driving on Oahu's roadways while monitoring my responses. Personal observations taken during different days and times of the week, provided me with a variety traffic patterns and situations as well as giving me insights into the ranges of my reactions. The accumulation of two weeks of observations gave me the opportunity to encounter different circumstances that I might have noticed one day and not another.

In using the method of self-witnessing where only the driver has access, creates limitations in accurate data collection and recording, attribution errors and self-serving biases. People are not always rational, deliberate and scientific. In all too many cases, they shortcut the principles that would lead to accurate perceptions and jump to incorrect conclusions. Verbal reports as data that rely on self-observation are not altogether reliable, valid and objective.

According to Ericsson and Simon in their book, Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data, the method of external observation fails in clinical and traffic psychology because the driver can only infer, creating errors in "symptomotology." Self-observation in the form of "Protocol Analysis" is the blow by blow description and analysis of a verbal transcript of a person's thoughts and feelings. Ericsson and Simon make the distinction between two forms of verbal reports, first are "concurrent verbal reports," the "talk aloud" and "think aloud" reports where "the cognitive processes, described as successive states of heeded information, are verbalized directly;" and second are "retrospective reports" where a "memory trace is laid down of the information heeded successively while completing a task, just after the task is finished, this trace can be accessed from short term memory, at least in part, or retrieved from long term memory and then verbalized." Retrospective reports are prone to errors and incompleteness because they rely on memory from the observer.

In short term memory, the subject has no problem in accessing, as compared to long term memory, where many problems arise in accessing memory stored. Long term memory in my opinion, is more inaccurate than short term memory and relies on modification and reinterpretation over time.

In their discussion of the history of verbal reports and introspection, Ericsson and Simon emphasized the point that "since all observations are made by humans, it is important to secure general agreement on what kinds of observations reflect the external world rather than idiosyncrasies of the individual observer." They go on to say that "complex assessments are often questioned or discarded as empirical evidence, because they embody inferences and knowledge not shared by all observers," as well as being "sensitive to the expectations and subjective biases of observers". On the other hand, "simple perceptual judgments based on sensory qualities, like colors, were found to be invariant over different observers and independent of such biasing factors as differences in knowledge and earlier experiences.

Raw Data
In designing a form on which to collect my data, I focused on various aspects of driving events that I was most interested in: the situation that occurred, external factors that contributed to my reaction, and a breakdown of my responses using the Affective-Cognitive-Sensorimotor model of behavior discussed by Dr. James in lecture(1994). The "Affective" consists of thought and feelings, the "Cognitive", thoughts, words and images and the "Sensorimotor", actions such as looking at the rear view mirror. Together, these three make up the psychological aspects of behavior. I have also included any other personal observations which I thought was relevant to the project. The following is a typed transcript of notes written immediately following driving my car.

1st Observation
It is Thursday, April 14, 1994 about 3:40 p.m. and I am driving home after class taking the route from U.H. parking structure to my home in Waialae-Kahala.

Sensorimotor Response: Instead of going through a yellow light and turning left onto Dole Street, I decelerate and come to a complete stop at the intersection. There is traffic everywhere and a backup of cars prevents me from making my way across the intersection to take a left. A patiently wait through a series of green, yellow and red lights without even moving an inch.

Affective Response: I am feeling in a good mood since the school day is now over and I have plenty of time to get home. Other Observations: I decide to turn the on the radio, sing to the music and relax.

Cognitive Response: "So what if it takes an extra 15 minutes to get home, there is plenty of time."

2nd Observation
It is Friday, April 15, 1994 about 10:45 a.m. I am driving to U.H. from Waialae-Kahala.

Sensorimotor Response: I am looking in my rear view mirror to see if there are any police cars following behind me on the freeway. Just then, spotted a Cutlass police car slowly approaching me from behind. I immediately responded by looking at my speedometer to see if I was speeding.

Affective Response: Nervous, uncomfortable, anxious.

Cognitive Response: "Is he going to pull me over and give me a speeding ticket?"

3rd Observation
It is Friday, April 15, 1994, about 2:45 p.m. I am driving from U.H. parking structure to home in Waialae-Kahala. While driving on the freeway, I notice a big truck hauling a refrigerator in the back bed of the truck in the middle lane up ahead. The refrigerator is tied down loosely with rope and is slightly tilted over.

Affective Response: I am feeling very nervous, threatened and anxious.

Cognitive Response: "This refrigerator is going to fall either onto the flat bed of the truck or off onto the road and hit one of us."

Sensorimotor Response: As soon as there was an opening in the right lane, I took it and passed the truck.

4th Observation
It is Saturday, April 16, 1994, at about 8:35 a.m. I am driving from Waialae-Kahala to Waikele Shopping Center. I am driving about 55 mph in the left lane with the radio on.

Affective Response: I am feeling calm, happy, generous and am enjoying talking to the passenger. I notice in the rear view mirror that a car behind me is approaching very fast.

Cognitive Response: "I better move over and leave the left lane free for faster moving traffic."

Sensorimotor Response: I then switch over to the middle lane allowing the car behind me to pass.

5th Observation
It is the same Saturday, April 16, 1994, at about 8:45 a.m. and am now passing Pearl City golf course. The lanes are gradually starting to narrow and two cars on each side of mine and all of us are going about the same speed of 55 mph.

Affective Response: Nervous, uncomfortable, jittery.

Cognitive Response: "Why do these two cars on both sides of me insist on going at the same speed as me?, "Why doesn't one of them speed up?"

Sensorimotor Response: I start to accelerated to 60 mph in order to bypass the two cars so that I wouldn't be stuck in the middle anymore.

6th Observation
It is Sunday, April 17, 1994, about 10:30 a.m. and I am heading towards downtown from Waialae-Kahala. As I am approaching the University off ramp, I see a line of cars starting to merge in the right lane ahead and a slowing of traffic.

Affective Response: I am feeling content, peaceful.

Cognitive Response: "I better move over so that cars trying to merge will have an easier time and to help the traffic flow more smoothly."

Sensorimotor Response: I turn on my directional light and move over to the middle lane.

7th Observation
It is Monday, April 18, 1994, at about 9:30 a.m. I am driving to U.H. campus from home. As I am driving in the right lane on the freeway going 53 mph, I notice a car ahead of me going about 40 mph in a 50 mph zone with the right directional light on.

Affective Response: feelings of frustration, annoyance, short tempered.

Cognitive Response: "Why is this person going so slow?"

Sensorimotor Response: I accelerated, while switching over to the middle lane, and looked to my right as I was passing to get a look the driver and glared at her. Other Observations: As I was exiting off the freeway, I looked in my rearview mirror to see the car that I had just overtaken. She was far back in behind me with her directional light still on and a line of about five cars right in back of her. After looking back, I felt justified in overtaking her.

8th Observation
It is Monday, April 18, 1994, at about 3:00 p.m. I have just entered the Kahala Mall parking lot and am driving around looking for a parking space.

Affective Response: I am in a good mood and feeling relaxed.

Cognitive Response: thinking about what I need to buy at Liberty House and Longs Drugs.

Sensorimotor Response: I am driving very slowly, braking for pedestrians that were crossing and patiently wait for them.

9th Observation
It is Tuesday, April 19, 1994 at about 9:00 a.m. I am heading to Waialae-Kahala from U.H.

Affective Response: Feeling tired and wanting to go home.

Cognitive Response: "Wow, the traffic flow is pretty light, maybe I can make it home in fifteen minutes."

Sensorimotor Response: As I am approaching the area where Police cars and motorcycles are known to hide out and wait with radar guns for cars speeding by, I take my foot off the accelerator and slow down to 52 mph. Other Observations: After I passed the area and everything looked clear, I then sped up to 60 mph.

10th Observation
Wednesday, April, 20, 1994 at about 1:00 p.m. I am heading back to town from Pearl City. I am driving in the middle lane on freeway just passing the airport and wanted to switch over to the right lane. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw cars approaching fast in the right lane.

Affective Response: feeling in a good mood.

Cognitive Response: "Wow, this guy must be in a real hurry to get somewhere."

Sensorimotor Response: I decided to wait, to let the car pass and then switch over to the right lane. Other Observations: I felt better that I waited, complied to driver's courtesy and that a win-win situation resulted.

Continuation. . .