Interpersonal antecedents of drivers' aggression

The theory of social information processing, which suggests that attributions affect aggressive reactions to another person's provocative behavior, was applied to the context of driving. Respondents were 150 male drivers, who were presented with three scenarios describing frustrating driving situations caused by another driver, male or female. Hostile and non-hostile attributions, and the preference for either aggressive or non-aggressive reactions were measured for each scenario. Aggregate image of drivers as well as driving-related emotions were also measured. A path analysis showed that irritability and competitiveness mediate the relationship between aggressive reactions, on the one hand, and hostility, anxiety, and drivers' image, on the other. Hostile attributions were found to be directed more toward male than toward female drivers and were related to a negative image of drivers. The results are discussed with regard to interpersonal aspects of driving behavior.

[1]  N. Miller,et al.  Frustration and aggression , 1939 .

[2]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social-Cognitive and Behavioral Correlates of Aggression and Victimization in Boys' Play Groups , 1998, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[3]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social-cognitive processes of severely violent, moderately aggressive, and nonaggressive boys. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[4]  Dana Yagil,et al.  Reasoned Action and Irrational Motives: A Prediction of Drivers' Intention to Violate Traffic Laws1 , 2001 .

[5]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social information-processing mechanisms in reactive and proactive aggression. , 1996, Child development.

[6]  K. Dodge,et al.  Distorted perceptions in dyadic interactions of aggressive and nonaggressive boys: Effects of prior expectations, context, and boys' age , 1998, Development and Psychopathology.

[7]  D. Parker,et al.  Attitudinal predictors of interpersonally aggressive violations on the road , 1998 .

[8]  James T. Reason,et al.  SOCIAL FACILITATION AND DRIVER BEHAVIOUR , 1990 .

[9]  Phil A. Silva,et al.  Identification of personality types at risk for poor health and injury in late adolescence , 1995 .

[10]  David Shinar,et al.  Aggressive driving: the contribution of the drivers and the situation , 1998 .

[11]  G. S. Pettit,et al.  Reactive and proactive aggression in school children and psychiatrically impaired chronically assaultive youth. , 1997, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[12]  K. Dodge,et al.  The distinction between beliefs legitimizing aggression and deviant processing of social cues: testing measurement validity and the hypothesis that biased processing mediates the effects of beliefs on aggression. Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[13]  D. Parker,et al.  Dimensions of driver anger, aggressive and highway code violations and their mediation by safety orientation in UK drivers , 1998 .

[14]  T. K. Srull,et al.  Handbook of Social Cognition , 1993 .

[15]  L. Berkowitz.  Frustration-aggression hypothesis: examination and reformulation. , 1989, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  Yoel Yinon,et al.  PRESENCE OF OTHER DRIVERS AS A DETERMINANT OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS --ROAD USER BEHAVIOR. THEORY AND RESEARCH. PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROAD SAFETY HELD IN GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS, AUGUST 1987 , 1995 .

[17]  Douglas T. Kenrick,et al.  Ambient Temperature and Horn Honking , 1986 .

[18]  K. Dodge,et al.  Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children's peer groups. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[19]  Dennis M. Donovan,et al.  Personality subtypes among driving-while-intoxicated offenders , 1982 .

[20]  Herbert L. Petri,et al.  Anonymity and aggressive driving behavior: A field study , 1995 .

[21]  L. Lowenstein,et al.  Research into Causes and Manifestations of Aggression in Car Driving , 1997 .

[22]  G. Marlatt,et al.  Personality subtypes among driving-while-intoxicated offenders: relationship to drinking behavior and driving risk. , 1982, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[23]  T. Lajunen,et al.  Impression management and Self-Deception in traffic behaviour inventories , 1997 .

[24]  D. Beirness.  DO WE REALLY DRIVE AS WE LIVE? THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY FACTORS IN ROAD CRASHES , 1993 .

[25]  J. Arnett,et al.  Reckless driving in adolescence: 'state' and 'trait' factors. , 1997, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[26]  G. Underwood,et al.  Anger while driving , 1999 .

[27]  Adrian Furnham,et al.  Type A behaviour pattern: The effect of competition on heart rate and performance on a driving game , 1991 .

[28]  B. Rienzi,et al.  Gender Differences regarding Peer Influence and Attitude toward Substance Abuse , 1996, Journal of drug education.

[29]  J Vavrik,et al.  Personality and risk-taking: a brief report on adolescent male drivers. , 1997, Journal of adolescence.