Instructor: Dr. Leon James,
Professor of Psychology, Gartley Hall 213A
e-mail: leon@hawaii.edu You can meet with the
instructor before and after classes (M, T, R), and by appointment
Course
Description: Driving
Psychology
This
research seminar on Driving in the Age of Rage examines the “threefold self” of
the driver behind the wheel – affective habits, cognitive habits, and
sensorimotor habits. Students will make oral presentations on two popular books
that deal with road rage and other driver practices in traffic, including
merging, hypermiling, and gender differences in driving. Students will make
oral presentations in class and will write two reports on the relationship
between virtual driving and real driving. Students will participate in virtual
driving activities through an avatar in the virtual world of Second Life. This
is done in the computer lab at Crawford 212 during the second portion of each
class. Students will use online resources available to the class such as ftp
uploading of their reports to the Web and collaborative access to documents
through the Driving Psychology Google Group.
Textbooks: (1) Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering
Clear of Highway Warfare. (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books) (2) Tom
Vanderbilt (2008). Traffic: Why We Drive
the Way We Do (New York: Knopf)
|
GRADES: POINT VALUE OF ACTIVITIES |
|
|
40 points |
Oral
Grade. Individual and team oral presentations |
|
60 points |
WI grade.
Appearance, content, and quality of your Web site containing your Home Page and
the two required reports. For the two reports combined, the total length of
typed text must exceed 32 pages of standard format, or about 9000 words. |
|
A+ =95
points; A =94-90; A- =89-85; B+ =84-80; B =79-75; B- =74-70 |
|
Attendance is required for class and lab and is
taken at the start of each class. Being late for class or leaving early:
-1 point each occurrence. Penalty points are on account of non-participation in
oral and interactive exercises when not present in class. Absence Penalty:
- 3 points per absence. Late Work Penalty: - 3
points per week late per item, up to -9 points per item. Due
Dates are announced in class and by email.
Grading
Policy:
You will receive email from the instructor with your grade for each report you
publish on the Web, along with instructions on how you need to correct
it. Corrections according to instructions can add points to your grade.
For your oral presentations, you will receive email feedback at midterm on your
oral presentations and class activities.
Class
Driving Psychology Group at Google: http://groups.google.com/group/driving-psychology
Access to Syllabus and Instructions: http://drdriving.org/409a
Student
Reports from prior
semesters are accessible at: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/gc/generations.html
The Instructor's Home page is at: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html
The Instructor's email is: leon@hawaii.edu
or licujames@gmail.com
DrDriving.org on the
Web