Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on October 18, 2011
With apologies or perhaps as depicted by Jason Statham, a new study suggests those who view their car as an extension of themselves have stronger aggressive driving tendencies.
The study looks at how personality, attitude and values contribute to aggressive driving behaviors.
Sadly, aggressive driving causes a third of all accidents that involve personal injuries and two-thirds of all fatal accidents in the United States.
“It explains much of the phenomenon we knew existed,†said Ayalla Ruvio, lead author and an assistant professor of marketing at Temple University.
For instance, “we know men tend to be more aggressive drivers and we know men tend to see their cars as an extension of themselves more than women.â€
Ruvio’s article, published online in the Journal of Psychology & Marketing, takes a consumer behavior perspective of this phenomenon and features two studies conducted in Israel.
One took a holistic look at the influence of personality, attitudes and values gathered from 134 surveys of men and women with an average age of 23.5.
The second study, of 298 people, built from the first and added the factors of risk attraction, impulsivity, driving as a hedonistic activity and perceptions about time pressures.
The studies found:
- *People who perceive their car as a reflection of their self-identity are more likely to behave aggressively on the road and break the law.
- *People with compulsive tendencies are more likely to drive aggressively with disregard for potential consequences.
- *Increased materialism, or the importance of one’s possessions, is linked to increased aggressive driving tendencies.
- *Young people who are in the early stages of forming their self-identity might feel the need to show off their car and driving skills more than others. They may also be overconfident and underestimate the risks involved in reckless driving.
- *Those who admit to aggressive driving also admit to engaging in more incidents of breaking the law.
- *A sense of being under time and pressure leads to more aggressive driving.
- Read in Full:
- http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/10/18/aggressive-drivers-identify-with-their-car/30443.html
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