Determinants of Emotional Experiences in Traffic Situations ... - OPUS

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102 Emotional States of Drivers and Their Impact on Driving Behaviour! anger-reactivity in various situations (Blows, Ameratunga, Ivers, Lo & Norton, 2005): men report more anger when they are impeded by other drivers (Deffenbacher, Oetting & Lynch, 1994), women are more angered when they are confronted with direct hostility, illegal actions of others or traffic obstructions (Parker, Lajunen & Summala, 2002). Combining these findings, there seems to be a strong situational component in the relationship between anger, driving experience and gender. A more constant link exists between trait related anger and the actual anger experienced in traffic situations, ‘state anger’ (Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch, Oetting & Salvatore, 2000; Deffenbacher et al., 2001). People show different tendencies to become angry in traffic, for example in frustrating or provoking situations (Deffenbacher et al., 2003). Subsequently, a high trait anger leads to experiencing more and intensified anger in those situations compared to drivers scoring low on trait anger (Spielberger, 1988). This disposition to become angry in traffic is a construct labelled trait-driving anger which is often measured with the driving anger scale (DAS, Deffenbacher et al., 1994). Another important determinant of anger while driving is driving motivation. When driving starts to play a role in personal identity of traffic participants and this becomes an obsessive passion which controls their actions, it can lead to more and intensified driving behaviour (Philippe et al., 2009). These highly motivated drivers tend to experience negative emotions such as anger in goalblocking situations (e. g., impeded progress on the road or erratic driving of others) more often and more intense (Philippe et al., 2009). Personal Characteristics and Risky Driving Parameters Besides the relationship between personal characteristics and driving anger, some evidence indicates a direct influence of personal characteristics on risky driving patterns without driving anger (Fisher et al., 2002; Krahé & Fenske, 2002; Reason et al., 1990). Males drive faster than women in traffic, which could increase the frequency and severity of accidents. One important reason for that behaviour are different risk homeostasis levels, which increase risk taking behaviour in men and could in turn lead to higher speeds and more traffic violations in general (Laapotti & Keskinen, 2004). Furthermore male drivers overestimate their driving skills, which could lead to higher speeds and to a greater involvement in a greater share of motor vehicle accidents (DeJoy, 1992; Ulleberg, 2001; Yagil, 1998). The findings for the impact of driving experience on (maladaptive) driving performance are more complex (Lonero, 2008). There is a consensus that constant exposure to traffic (operationalized with miles per year) shapes the mental model of the driver and improves the ability to detect hazards (McKnight & McKnight, 2000) and assess risks (Ferguson, 2003). This leads to more adaptive driving behaviour. Therefore, experienced drivers do not encounter as many critical situations per kilometre as novice drivers and react more appropriately if such situations arise. This reduces the probability of crashing (Laapotti, Keskinen, Hatakka & Katila, 2001). On the other hand a better understanding of the traffic environment can lead to higher speeds and more traffic violations (Björklund, 2008; Laapotti & Keskinen, 2004), which is a risk factor for other traffic participants.
Introducing a Multivariate Model for Predicting Driving Performance 103 There is no research to date which explicitly addresses the relationship between driving performance and motivation to drive, with the exception of aggressive behaviour while driving (e.g., swearing and hostile gestures) due to intensified anger in persons with an obsessive passion to drive (Philippe et al., 2009). There is some evidence, though, that young males differ in their motives and attitudes compared to older drivers and females. For the latter driving cars is more instrumental (e.g., to reach a destination or to transport goods), whereas for young males driving is a means to express and assert themselves, and they therefore display higher speeds to gain admiration from their peers (Laapotti & Keskinen, 2004). Taken together, the findings of past research indicate that there is a strong relationship between anger and driving parameters such as velocity and acceleration. This anger is influenced by personal characteristics such as gender, driving experience and driving motivation. But there are shortcomings in the in the literature about the relationship between those personal characteristics, experienced anger and driving behaviour. The aim of this research was therefore to disentangle the influences of personal characteristics and experienced anger on driving performance within a simulated driving environment. Therefore, a model was created where all relevant influences on driving performance are examined and – as a consequence – the distinct impact of every single factor is revealed. Based on the reviewed literature, relevant influences are driving motivation, driving experience, gender, trait and state anger. Driving Motivation Driving Performance Driving Experience Gender Trait Driving Anger Anger Figure 1: Proposed driving model of personal characteristics, anger and driving performance !
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Determinants of Emotional Experienc
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Acknowledgements I would like to th
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Abstract Emotions play a prominent
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List of Tables Chapter 2: The Emoti
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Introduction 11 1. Introduction 1.1
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Introduction 13 (Deffenbacher et al
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Introduction 15 emotions varies vas
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Introduction 17 Therefore, a precis
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Introduction 19 On the behavioural
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Introduction 21 A coherent model of
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Introduction 23 Chliaoutakis, J.E.,
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Introduction 25 Giegling, I., Hartm
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Introduction 27 Reason, J., Manstea
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Introduction 29 Ulleberg, P., (2001
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The Emotional Spectrum in Traffic S
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49 The Emotional Spectrum in Traffi
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