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

The Emotional Spectrum in Traffic Situations 31
2.1 Introduction
In 2011, almost 400,000 people were involved in traffic accidents in Germany. For about 4,000 of
these people the accidents were fatal (Destatis, 2012). There is an ongoing debate about preliminary
events leading up to those individual accidents and over the years more and more focus has been put
on emotions that influence inappropriate driving (Dula & Ballard, 2003; Dula & Geller, 2003;
Mesken, Hagenzieker, Rothengatter & De Waard, 2007; Nesbit, Conger & Conger, 2007). Emotions
such as anger tend to influence our driving skills and can increase the probability of driving
inappropriately (Matthews et al., 1998; Mesken et al., 2007; Stephens & Groeger, 2009). When risky
(e.g. weaving in and out of slower traffic or speeding) or aggressive driving patterns (e.g. blocking a
tailgating car or chasing another driver) occur in dense city traffic or in sharp curves on a country
road, the situation can be fatal for all involved. Various studies have concerned themselves with
elicited emotions such as anger and their impact on individuals’ driving behaviour and the likelihood
of having an accident (Deffenbacher, Petrilli, Lynch, Oetting & Swaim, 2003; Shinar & Compton,
2004; Stephens & Groeger, 2009; Underwood, Chapman, Wright & Crundall, 1999). Overall there is a
strong focus on emotions related to anger and how they affect driving behaviour. Few cases have
taken emotions such as anxiety or happiness into account when they analysed inappropriate driving
behaviour (Dula, Adams, Miesner & Leonard, 2010; Mesken et al., 2007; Taylor, Deane & Podd,
2000). Considering the fact that in a study by Mesken and colleagues (2007), those emotions are
almost as common as anger in everyday traffic, much more attention could be paid to them.
Another area which has not received much attention is the traffic situation itself. Only a few
studies examine traffic situations and their defining attributes as emotional triggers (Hennessy &
Wiesenthal, 1999; Mesken et al., 2007; Shinar, 1998). Clearly, it is extremely important to understand
these situations and their relevant attributes in order to describe the cause of an experienced emotion
more precisely (Frijda, 1994).
The appraisal theory of emotions is a suitable method for describing the defining attributes of
traffic situations (Mesken et al., 2007). The subjective assessment of a given situation – the appraisal –
determines whether an emotion has been elicited or not and, if an emotion has been triggered, its
quality and intensity (Lazarus, 1991; Scherer, Schorr, & Johnstone, 2001). In the so-called primary
appraisal stage the individual evaluates the personal relevance of the situation for his/her own goals
and whether the situation is consistent with the goal (goal promoting / high goal congruence) or not
(goal blocking / low goal congruence). For example if there is traffic congestion (the situation) on my
side of the street (influences my arrival goal in a relevant way) but not in the other direction (irrelevant
to my arrival goals) it’s more likely that this will block my goals (goal incongruence). Therefore, this
stage determines whether an emotion occurs and whether it is of positive (when goals are promoted)
or negative valence (when goals are blocked). The components of the second stage are blame (or
credit), the coping potential of the individual and possible consequences of the situation. Blame (or
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