Attitudes Driving Newsgroups
It Isn't Black and White
*** DISCLAIMER: The comments
following each posting are the author's opinion; they are not intended, nor
should they be considered psycho-analysis. The comments are merely an attempt
to integrate psychological principles into the analysis of a social
phenomena. The author is not a psychologist and said reflections are required
by the instructor for this report.
**** WARNING: The postings used for this report were copied verbatim from the actual newsgroups. The foul language, misspelled words, poor grammar, and ideas are the sole responsibility of the authors who originally posted them.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
I would like to take this opportunity to warn, you, the reader that some postings in this report contain foul and offensive language. I would like to stress that these postings were chosen to represent various attitudes on the internet. Although some of the postings were written to shock people, I hope that you will be able to examine the authors' motives without focusing on their offensive words.
This report examines the various attitudes in newsgroups. Several different newsgroups relating to road rage and aggressive driving were used. Each posting is discussed in regards to various psychological principles concerning aggressive driving and road rage. Although I am merely an undergraduate psychology student, I hope that you will find my comments interesting and thought provoking.
CROWDING THEORY IN RELATIONSHIP TO ROAD RAGE
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EXAMPLE #1 |
EXAMPLE #2 |
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Subject: Re: Road rage = overpopulation
A test of the overcrowding hypothesis was whether road-rage was as much of a problem in crowded cities, say a few decades ago. An alternative hypothesis is that people's lives are more busy now and / or more impatient. I assume all these hypotheses are being studied by enterprising sociologists, since driving congestion is an increasing problem. |
Subject: Re:
Road rage = overpopulation Much simpler,
and very PC to just blame it on drivers
in general and introduce a new layer of
laws, fees,and fines to get americans out
of their cars. You both miss the point. More PEOPLE = more cars. It's about halting population growth, not about lawyers and regulations. Simple folk will always dwell on surface issues, of course. [ A.J.] |
Comment:
These two examples from newsgroups about driving, illustrate the dynamics within a particular news group. Rick in example #1, suggests that one could test the overcrowding theory in relationship to road rage. In example #2, A.J. is responding to example #1 and previous replies to the initial idea.
Since these particular postings are also cross-referenced with two environmental newsgroups, it is not surprising that Rick offers a road rage theory relating to population growth. The response to Rick's original posting seems more rhetorical in nature. However, A.J. seems to think that the author is offering legislation to limit the numbers of drivers as a solution to road rage. I disagree with A.J.'s interpretation of the response. I believe that the author was commenting that population growth is a problem, but that politicians and the public tend to just examine its symptoms-in this case road rage.
The hypothesis that road rage could be a result of overcrowding is worthy of investigation. Psychologists have determined that crowding adversely effects both animals and humans. A study by Dwight Hennessy and David Wiesenthal entitled The relationship between traffic congestion, driver stress and direct versus indirect coping behaviors found that "state stress was greatest for all drivers experiencing the high congestion condition" (1997). In this study and in the case of road rage, crowding theory may apply in that high densities of cars may cause a perception of crowding. Even if the number of cars on the road at a given time is relatively low, drivers may feel crowded if their privacy is being invaded by other drivers who drive too close or if they become stuck in grid locked traffic.
However, it is important to keep in mind that crowding is a perception. It is possible for someone to be in an low density population area and still feel crowded. A person perceives a feeling of being crowded when they feel that they have lost some of their privacy or become over stimulated by environmental inputs. Although perceptions vary from person to person, Hennesy and Wiesenthal's study also found that drivers who were determined to have "high trait stress" experienced the highest stress levels when driving in congestion (Hennessy & Wiesenthal, 1997). Perhaps individuals with "high trait stress" are more likely to perceive being crowded than individuals with "low trait stress".
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AT ITS BEST
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EXAMPLE #3 |
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Subject: re: road
Rage - AA Survey [reply to various posters] There have been a variety of reactions to the tale of road rage I posted a while back, and in my final message on this thread (and probably to the NG - the standard of 'discussion' on here is barely at playground level) I'd like to reply to some of the points made and make a few final observations. Women, on the other hand, don't have this masculine baggage. for all their technical fault, they are, IMO, by far he safer drivers, and when I've been offered lifts from people, I've always chosen the women driver. More often than not, when I've had to take a lift from a bloke I've wished that I'd walked home. I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that, as a man, you need to be prepared for violence from other men if you venture on to the roads. Maybe things will improve as women make up a greater percentage of drives, but I'm no going to risk it. So, those posters who think I a thicko idiot who deserves a kicking will be pleased to know that I'm giving up driving, for all but essential purposes and will either use PT, my push bike, or prevail on my girlfriend to give me lifts. The benefits that driving brings aren't worth the risks of hospitalisation or death just because some men have a hormone problem. My final, and very elementary, point, is that the purpose of driving is to get from A to B. That's all - the car's just a machine for that purpose. Noone should have to suffer the threat of physical violence, or the stress of being shouted at, or having their lives put at risk, just because they want to get somewhere. Or maybe I'm just being naive Thanks to those few who have sympathised with me. A Driver Others made the fair point that I was wrong to give the guy the finger, and it's certainly not an error I'll repeat. Some said that, if I'd soon that in any other situations I'd have got a kicking, which is a sound point and one I've made myself a number of times - it irritates me (dare I say it enrages me :-)) when people make gestures or yell abuse from the safety of their little metal boxes which they wouldn't have the guts to do in real life. It's probably fair to say that if you make aggressive |
gestures then you should be prepared to back them up with personal violence, and as I'm not so prepared then I'll keep my hands to myself form now on. Mind you, I wonder what the real-life equivalent of driving up someone's arse at 80 is... Some sensitive soul wished that I'd been
rammed off the road, to which I earnestly suggest that you search the
Yellow Pages for a good anger management course. You already knew that the guy was nutter because he was right up your arse. Then, after the incident, instead of just ignoring it, you thought you would overtake him again. Hello? Are you thick or what? I overtook him again to try to get away from him because he was driving deliberately dangerously in front of me, periodically speeding up to 60 then slowing down to 30. My biggest fear was that he would stop altogether, which on this stretch of road without a hard shoulder would have been extremely dangerous. I would suggest an anger management course to you as well, mate. So, let's get back to the nub of the matter. Does and offensive gesture by me justify deliberately dangerous driving by another which risks the lives of both myself and my blameless girlfriend? Does it justify said driver following us for over 10 miles, and quite possibly attacking us if I hadn't managed to lose him? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then I suggest that you start smoking some good dope because you plainly need to chill out. In all my years as on the road (30-odd as a
cyclist and passenger, just as a driver), my strong impression is that
aggressive, irresponsible, and dangerous driving is usually committed by
me (although I can think of a couple of women who drove like maniacs,
including one white-knuckle ride that is burned into my memory). My
personal feeling is that this is a problem caused by masculinity-we
perceive ourselves to be in conflict/competition with other drivers and
act as we're brought up to act, that is aggressively. When there is a
direct conflict with another man driver, perhaps due to violent gestures,
being cut up, or wotnot, it ceases to be a driving problem and becomes a
man-man conflict. In real life, conflicts between men are resolved by the
use, or threatened use, of violence, so it not surprising that this ethos
carries itself on to the road and that so many men get out of their cars
to teach the other man 'a lesson'. ("I'll teach you not to be
aggressive!"-SMACK!). Now if it was only the men themselves who got hurt
there'd be no problem, but sadly this testosterone overdose (particularly
in young lads) puts the lives of non-combatants at risk. Maybe we need a
testosterone test instead of the brethalyser ;-( |
Comment:
I chose this example, because the author obviously suffers from road rage. His very detailed, perhaps long-winded responses seems genuine. From a clinical psychology perspective, A. Driver could be an interesting subject.
Based on this text, A. Driver seems to be suffering from a case of cognitive dissonance. This theory states that people need consistency between their thoughts and their actions. When discrepancies occur, the person feels distress and must implement coping strategies to help alleviate their mental discomfort. Namely, if an individual behaves in a way that contradicts their attitudes, then they may attempt to alter their thoughts to achieve consistency. For example, A. Driver says that aggressive driving is wrong and dangerous, yet he admits that he often drives aggressively. A. Driver tries to justify his actions by commenting "this is a problem caused by masculinity". By attributing his own road rage to learned behavior and natural tendencies, he has distanced himself from his behavior. In addition, A. Driver escapes having to evaluate his own actions and beliefs more critically.
From his response, it seems as if A.Driver has been self witnessing his behavior. He admits that he does tend to make obscene jesters at other drivers and drive over the speed limit. However, his rationalization for his behavior is contradictory. Although self witnessing is one of the first steps to changing one's behavior and it involves noticing and analyzing your own behavior, A. Driver does not seem to be motivated to change his behavior. From his response, it seems as if he prefers to rationalize his behavior rather than attempt to change.
LEARNED ANGER RESPONSES
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EXAMPLE #4 |
EXAMPLE #5 |
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Subject: Daily gripe:
entrance ramp darters Some people are intimidated by people entering the interstate from the entrance ramp. Even though they are in the passing lane they slow down rather abruptly. Its seems that some people not only enter the highway but "dart out" several lanes. So naturally some people are a bit nervous. Now driving home tonight the above happened, and three cars in the left lane nearly piled up because the lead driver was so nervous, suddenly he/she was doing about 40 in a 65. Now this kind of thing would not happen so much if there was "discipline" in this country when it comes to driving. The fear of the car that "darts out" has a lot of people nervous. Well, I for one am not usually intimidated. Next time you dart out on me, we will see just how far my bumper goes through the drivers' side door. |
Subject: yesssiree....
road rage, 'net rage' all a sign of the times rat-tat-at-at!!!!!!! 'eh dere guys, take the advice from the bloke in las' weeks computer periodical the name of which dont matter. when youre about to send a nasty flame email, send it to yourself instead, hten read it ethe next day ant THEN decide where it should go. tip of da iceberg all this, tip of the iceberg fer sure........ all dos' menfolk takin em selves tooooo serious. always 'appens when they bust a new batch of
the moonshine. |
Comment:
From one school of thought, these two examples clearly demonstrate the different learned responses to anger. In example #4, the author responds to his anger with retaliation towards the other driver. However, the author of example #5 points out that road rage and net rage are the same, because both are inappropriate ways of dealing with anger. The suggestion of example #5's author that ragers should cool off, is a good idea.
Many anger management courses are founded on the theory that some people do not learn how to deal with their anger. As a result, they engage in destructive behaviors. Anger management courses advocate that enraged individuals should take several deep breaths and try to mentally step back from the situation. From this school of thought, road rage is not a result of other drivers' actions, but misdirected anger. Psychologist like Arnold P. Nerenberg, Ph.D. contend that road rage is a mental disorder in which rage results from anger acquired during a previous incident that was not dealt with properly. Consequently, the driver projects his/her pent up rage onto other drivers.
However, from the perspective of most psychologists and sociologists road rage and net rage are social phenomena. They argue that as a society, we have accepted such pathological behavior as the norm. Dr. Driving writes "aggressive driving is a cultural norm...a habit we acquire as part of our culture and society". An article entitled "Is Road Rage a Mental Disorder?" (02/02/98) on the Mining Co-Mental Health Resources Website, Leonard Holmes criticizes Dr. Nerenberg and other psychologist who are quick to label certain behaviors as mental disorders.
In the case of examples #4 and #5, the different responses could indicate the variance in the author's "affective compliance". This concept, from Dr. Driving's paper entitled Data on the Private World of the Driver in Traffic: Affective, Cognitive, and Sensorimotor involves a person's motivation, character and conscience or simply that a person's will is either good or bad. From this perspective, one might conclude that the author of example #4 is immature and has not developed internal, moral controls. As a result, the author of example #4 engages in hateful comments and aggressive driving, because he/she has no regard for the feelings of others. If a person has a high level of affective compliance, then they will not engage in road rage or net rage, because the individual's conscience would not permit such immoral activities.
REACTION FORMATION
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Example #6 |
Example #7 |
Postings From: Stupid Driver Central--HiStrung's Road Rage Relief
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"What really pisses me off is when assholes don't know how to use there turn signals! I wait and wait, and they make me wait until I realize they are turning, luckily I haven't shot at anyone yet!" Pissed off From Oregon |
Feb. 17, 1998 at 0:48:05 "Right the fuck on!!! This is something every city needs! I get into 2-3 fights a week because of cocksuckers like these posted on here! Where are u from? Keep up the good shit! U know what would be rea;;y cool is a downloadable video of these fucking morons in action!!! Anyway looking for something to be done about roadmanners and sense before someone really sets me off!! There wouldn't be road rage if there were better liscense requirements for these fucking inbeciles!!!" |
Comment:
These postings are from a road rage web site titled Stupid Driver Central. The author of the site reports in his biography that he is a UNIX administrator at the United States Air Force Base: Strategic Air Command (SAC) in Omaha, NE (Where I used to live). He writes in his brief biography that his web site is a therapeutic way for him to deal with the his road rage. On this web site, the author posts photos of cars who engage in, what he feels, to be bad driving behavior. The site also contains a bulletin board, from which the above postings were obtained.
I believe the authors of these two postings set out to shock and intimidate other readers. Since, the postings are likely screened by the author of the site before they are posted, he could probably relate to Waster and Lee. Although the amount of information about the author of the Stupid Driver Central web site is limited, one might suggest that he is engaging in reaction formation.
Reaction formation theory simply states that individuals who experience dangerous or threatening impulses may engage in exaggerated opposite behavior. One might infer this based on the author's biography. The author describes how he used to live in Alaska and enjoyed its peacefulness. His web site is fairly benign and passive. The author himself does not use any foul language in his site, and his comments regarding other drivers focus more on safety issues than his own reactions.
Although the author reports that while he does sometimes have aggressive impulses, he does not act on them. Instead, he snaps a photo of the driver's car and vents his frustration to the cyber community. He suggests, that posting pictures of Stupid Drivers negates his desire to act on his aggressive impulses. One might also argue that the author of Stupid Drivers is passive aggressive. Instead of acting on his road rage (the societal norm), the author resists and acts out his aggression by taking photographs.
Regardless of motivation, Stupid Drivers unusual coping strategy seems to work for him. He has used his web design talent as a creative outlet for what some regard as a societal bad habit. Although the drivers of the cars posted on his site may have issues with him positing their pictures, the site is well designed and amusing.
THEORIES ABOUT ROAD RAGE
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Example #8 |
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Date: 1998/01/22 *dreamy sigh* Maybe the hypocrisy is too much even for them--there's nothing that tailgates closer than a MD state trooper tying to get you to commit a traffic offense. Imagine my total surprise when I checked the
rear view mirror, and saw that BOTH of her hands were off the steering
wheel as she fussd with her hair. Around a curve. Riding my bumper at
55-60 MPH. Still trying to figure out what she was using to steer with.
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Knees. Possible, but not recommended. I'm also trying to figure out what the motivation of people who whip around you solely for the sake of being able to jam on the brakes at the red light ahead... Three motives, offhand 2.) Perception of slowness of car ahead--figuring getting ahead of the slow car will translate to a huge advantage when the light turns green. 3.) Only the lead dog gets a change of scenery---particularly when the car ahead is a minivan, SUV or other truck. Banning this practice for any of these reasons is just going to result in more "road rage," not less. If people are annoyed because they are stuck in traffic, banning the ways they have to either get unstuck (2), blow off steam (1), or make being stuck less annoying (3) is just going to make them more annoyed, more frustrated, and angrier. |
Comment:
This posting is a series of responses to another posting. From the situation described in the initial postings, the author responds with some theories about why people engage in acts that could be labeled as road rage.
I disagree with the author's suggestions that road rage is due to mis-perception. I believe it is not mis-perceptions that cause road rage, but learning. We learn habits though infinitely many interactions including interactions with our peers, parents, movies, and the media. According to Dr. Arthur W. Staats's theory of learning, all leaning takes place in terms of "basic behavioral repertoires" (BBR's). By building up these BBR's, we acquire habits. The types of BBR's an individual acquires influences how he/she behaves.
As a society, we have developed BBR's that have allowed road rage and net rage to manifest itself. Although it is impossible to define how this occurred, it is important to note that learned behavior can be modified. Dr. Driving suggests that through a process of self witnessing drivers can "change their driving personality." Dr. Driving's, system involves first noticing aggressive driving behavior and then implementing a plan to modify that behavior.
Based on Dr. Driving's reports and the research regarding learning, this method seems very effective. Instead of viewing aggressive driving as pathology, this view recognizes that driving, like so many of our daily actions, is a habit. Unfortunately, as a society we have allowed the occasional aggressive driving act to takeover and become a bad habit. However, for those who choose to do so, change is possible.
WILL STRONGER LAWS CHANGE BEHAVIOR?
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Example #9 |
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Subject: Re:solutions to
road rage? No. We propose a much better solution:
legislation designed to permantly revoke driver licences for anyone twice
convicted of speeding, tailgating, improper lane change, or reckless
driving within a 10j yr period. First time DUI offenders should be permanantly
denied a licence to drive as well. We urge everyone reading this to
support such legislation in order to stem the rising tide of very poor
driving behavior in our country. This sort of raises the question of whom to punish. If one guy goads another (yo mama wears combat boots, maybe a little shove, etc.) and the other guy swings at him it is pretty tough to say who was more wrong. Is the guy who swung? Yeah, he probably should have contained his anger. But what about the guy who provoked? Surely he should not have been doing the provoking, or her could have expected to take a punch. It seems to me that driving in the left lane
without any intention to |
pass is the automotive equivalent of this goading. The message (amplified by a tap of the brakes) is that the guy behind is not important enough for you to inconvenience yourself to move over. Thus goaded, some people are going to swing, period. Expect it. Don't want it to happen? Don't goad. Then the equation is much more simple. If a guy pulls some random aggressive and dangerous move with no provocation, then he ought to be stopped, just the like the guy who randomly pops someone, especially when the reaction may be unknown/dangerous. If we should punish the people passing on the right for aggression, we should punish the left lane bandits for idiocy. As for your proposed legislation, most of the people I know have a speeding ticket, many within the last ten years (including my mother, who absolutely DOES NOT speed; she rarely breaks 54 on the highway). A permanent revocation of the licences of these people will lead to exactly one thing: hordes of unlicensed motorists. Perhaps you prefer that state of affairs? Such revocation can only exist in a society with excellent mass transit--that is, a place where people do not NEED cars. Such a community is a long way off in this country. Back to the drawing board. [ Ben ] |
Comment:
I agree with Ben that stronger legislation is not he answer to solving the road rage problem. Sociologists have shown that external controls [such as laws], do not deter people from committing crimes. Instead, societies depend on internal controls [morals], which comes from social conditioning or learning.
I know that from my own personal driving experiences, that speeding tickets did not change my behavior. I have had three speeding tickets totaling more than $200.00 in fines. (I still maintain that I only deserved one of them, but I digress.) I tend to drive fast, but I can honestly say that I do not suffer from road rage. I have never yelled obscenities, honked, or made rude gestures at another driver out of anger. Nor do I get mad when other drivers impede my (sometimes) excessive speed. I like to drive fast, because it gives me an overwhelming sense of freedom.
Although I have slowed my speed, it was due to an attitude change. I realized that the perception of freedom comes from within. I now know that I do not need to drive 100 MPH with the wind in my hair to feel free. Instead, I learned that I only need to free myself from thoughts that make me feel trapped (transpersonal psychology). Instead of ruminating about all of the things I must accomplish in a very limited amount of time (i.e.: this class!) I take each moment one at a time. This way, I do not allow myself to become overwhelmed, feel trapped, and drive way too fast!
COLLECTIVE ROAD RAGE - WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT SOCIETY
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Example #10 |
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Date: 1998*02/07 Remember, you are not late until you get there, My employer has required me (and the other 4500 drivers) to take defensive driving courses for the las 12 years. The snippet from your post above is on of the catch phrases that the driving instructors use. |
I drive about 45,000/year, most of it around the bay area. Daily, without fail, I witness driving habits that are not merely aggressive, but vengeful. I've driven all over the country and I don't think I've ever seen such a severe case of collective road rage as I have in the bay area. Santa Rosa isn't so bad, 880 is by far the worst. [ Scott (a) ] |
Comment:
I chose this posting merely because of Scott's use of the word vengeful. Although his observation maybe over exaggerated, it does bring to light an interesting point, we take our driving personally. I have noticed that as a society, when we drive we tend to think in terms of ourselves; and somewhere along the way, we lost our manners. I cannot count the number of times I have heard comments like: "That jerk cut me off!" or "I was being tailgated!" However, I do not recall anyone ever saying "That person must be late for a doctors appointment or something important to be driving like that."
In one particular article that I found, the author, J. Langley, comments "Only a few courteous motorists and I drive perfectly and with safety as our chief concern." Langley goes on to comment that he, like many other drivers often feel that the "other guy" is at fault. Humorously (or perhaps not so humorously) he suggest that we mount machine guns to the hoods of our cars.
As drivers, we are generally not sympathetic to the plights of other drivers. As a result, we tend to feel that the other person is trying to take away some of our power and that makes it easy for us to get angry. Dr. James (a.k.a. Dr. Driving) suggests that driving, like clicking in cyberspace are moral acts. Our clicking and our driving are moral acts, because they depends on our will and motivation which can be good or bad.
If we think of these and other activities as moral acts, then we will be less likely to behave in an immoral fashion. For example, many of us do not speed out of fear of getting a ticket. However, the moral driver does not speed, because speeding endangers others. Moreover, if we self witness our own will and motivations while driving, we are more apt to consider the wills and motivations of other drivers. Perhaps this exercise could lead to more aware and more tolerant drivers.
CONCLUSION
I must admit that until I read Dr. Driving's articles that I thought road rage should be classified as a disorder. However, after doing research for this report, I now agree with Dr. Driving and others that road rage is a bad habit that society has acquired. I believe that this has occured because society has lost its sense of morality, and acts like road rage and net rage just some of the most visible effects of our insensitivity. However, since the road rage habit has become so pervasive, many organizations are working to help people change the way they drive. Hopefully, their efforts will result in kinder, more courteous highways!
OTHER APPROACHES TO THIS REPORT
Well, I think my report turned
out pretty good, if I do say so myself! I had the hardest time deciding how
to separate the postings from my comments. I think my report compares pretty
well to my classmates. If you have the time, you should look at all the
reports. However, if your time is limited, I suggest you check out
R.
Nakagawa's Report. Mr. Nakagawa found some real newsgroups gems and his
candid commentary is worth a read. I also highly recommend
C. Naranjo's report. Ms. Naranjo used hypertext to do her report, and it
is just beautiful!
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
I suggest that future generations join some newsgroups and submit their own comments. I had fun reading the comments that were posted, but I wish that I had replied to some of the respondents. I suspect that in the near future, I will join and participate in several newsgroups. Currently I am too busy with 18 hours of classes and work! However, I think that it would a great learning experience.
REFERENCES & LINKS TO OTHER INFORMATION
Hennessy, D.A., & Wiesenthal, D.L. (1997). The relationship between traffic congestion, driver stress and direct versus indirect coping behaviours [On-line]. Ergonomics, 40(3), 348-361. Abstract from: members.apa.org File: PsycINFO
Staats, A. W. (1996). Behavior and personality : psychological behaviorism. New York : Springer.
A Student at Northern KY Univ. Needs Your Help!-Answer Her Road Rage Survey
Iowa DOT's Web Page Devoted to Combating Road Rage
CNN New-A Driver's Ed Teacher Who Allegedly Ordered His Student To Commit Road Rage
Knoxville Road Rage Action Page
What to Do About Road Rage-An Article
Road Rage Newsgroup-More Postings!
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Visit the Rest of My Site Mining the Generational Curriculum My Report 1 on: Virtual Relationships. |