Understanding Aggressive Driving: The Role of Personality and Individual Differences

The goal of the present study was to examine the role of personality and individual differences on aggressive driving. It was hypothesized that personality and individual differences would be significantly related to aggressive driving behavior. A sample of n = 252 participants from a southeastern university and surrounding community were required to complete a series of driving questionnaires; the ADBQ, DBQ, and CFQ-D; and a series of personality questionnaires; the IPIP-NEO-PIR and BFI. Our results indicated that personality factors and individual differences significantly predicted aggressive driving outcomes. These results provided a preliminary personality based characteristic profile of the aggressive driver. These results also support the use of trait anger and trait cooperation independently from the subscales they are derived from (Neuroticism and Agreeableness) to predict aggressive driving behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Does social rejection increase susceptibility to peer influence? Testing a model of social rejection, physiological stress, and peer influence on risky driving among adolescents and young adults

Peer passengers are a significant risk factor for young drivers experiencing collisions and other adverse driving outcomes. A number of studies have tested the effect of peer passengers on driving behaviour, but few have manipulated contextual variables, such as social evaluation, that predict risky behaviour in other contexts. Further, it is not clear how individual susceptibilities to peer influence, such as physiological stress, interact with contextual variables to affect risky behaviour. The current study explored whether social evaluation (via social rejection or social acceptance) affect driving outcomes acceleration, speed, and lane positioning) and if the type of social evaluation affects perception of risky peer norms. Individual differences, including physiological stress and sensitivity to social evaluation, were measured to determine if they moderate the relationship between social evaluation and driving outcomes. A total of 75 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 17 and 25 years were randomized to complete the study alone or with a confederate who was instructed to socially accept or socially reject them, as well as model risky or risk-averse driving norms. Results indicated that peer passengers and peer driving norms, regardless of the social-evaluative context, did not generally affect mean values of driving outcomes, but did affect variability in driving outcomes, particularly in intersections. Physiological stress and perceptions of social acceptance also predicted driving outcomes, such that participants who had higher mean heart rates and felt more socially accepted by the confederate had more variability in their driving outcomes. These findings suggest that peer passengers increase variable, or inconsistent, driving patterns, perhaps due to passengers distracting young drivers from road conditions. Further, feeling socially accepted increases the strength of the relationship between presence of peer passengers and inconsistent driving patterns, indicating that social rewards may precede risky behaviour more often than social threats do.

Does social rejection increase susceptibility to peer influence? Testing a model of social rejection, physiological stress, and peer influence on risky driving among adolescents and young adults

Peer passengers are a significant risk factor for young drivers experiencing collisions and other adverse driving outcomes. A number of studies have tested the effect of peer passengers on driving behaviour, but few have manipulated contextual variables, such as social evaluation, that predict risky behaviour in other contexts. Further, it is not clear how individual susceptibilities to peer influence, such as physiological stress, interact with contextual variables to affect risky behaviour. The current study explored whether social evaluation (via social rejection or social acceptance) affect driving outcomes acceleration, speed, and lane positioning) and if the type of social evaluation affects perception of risky peer norms. Individual differences, including physiological stress and sensitivity to social evaluation, were measured to determine if they moderate the relationship between social evaluation and driving outcomes. A total of 75 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 17 and 25 years were randomized to complete the study alone or with a confederate who was instructed to socially accept or socially reject them, as well as model risky or risk-averse driving norms. Results indicated that peer passengers and peer driving norms, regardless of the social-evaluative context, did not generally affect mean values of driving outcomes, but did affect variability in driving outcomes, particularly in intersections. Physiological stress and perceptions of social acceptance also predicted driving outcomes, such that participants who had higher mean heart rates and felt more socially accepted by the confederate had more variability in their driving outcomes. These findings suggest that peer passengers increase variable, or inconsistent, driving patterns, perhaps due to passengers distracting young drivers from road conditions. Further, feeling socially accepted increases the strength of the relationship between presence of peer passengers and inconsistent driving patterns, indicating that social rewards may precede risky behaviour more often than social threats do.

Disentangling the Differential Roles of Warmth and Competence Judgments in Customer-Service Provider Relationships

Despite increasing interest in warmth and competence as fundamental dimensions in consumers’ evaluation of service providers, prior research remains ambiguous about which dimension is more important. The current study develops a nomological framework that clarifies this ambiguity and explains whether, when, and why warmth or competence takes precedence for different outcomes in customer-service provider relationships. Combined evidence from field and laboratory studies support the notion of an asymmetric dominance, which suggests that warmth is dominant in driving outcomes that capture relational aspects (e.g., customer-company identification), whereas competence is dominant in driving outcomes that capture transactional aspects of the customer-service provider relationship (e.g., share of wallet). The findings provide first insights into the underlying mechanisms that drive this asymmetric dominance by demonstrating that relational and capability concerns mediate this process. Moreover, the current investigation identifies novel moderators that offer managers help in identifying service contexts (people vs. object care) and customer segments (differing in process and outcome service goals) for which investing in warmth or competence is more promising. Overall, displaying competence is particular effective in driving customer attraction and current operating performance, whereas displaying warmth is better suited to establish strong emotional bonds and drive customer retention.

A Systematic Review Examining Associations between Cardiovascular Conditions and Driving Outcomes among Older Drivers

There is a vast literature on stroke as a cardiovascular disease and driving outcomes, however little is known about other cardiovascular conditions and driving. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature for studies assessing the effect of non-stroke, vascular conditions on daily driving, reported crash risk and driving decline in older adult drivers as captured by naturalistic methodologies. A systematic review of Embase, Ovid and Scopus Plus examined articles on driving and vascular conditions among older adults. A search yielded 443 articles and, following two screenings, no articles remained that focused on non-stroke, vascular conditions and naturalistic driving. As a result, this review examined non-stroke, vascular conditions in nine driving studies of older adults that used road testing, driving simulators and self-report measures. These studies fell into three categories—heart failure, vascular dementia and white matter hyperintensities/leukoaraiosis. The combined findings of the studies suggest that heart failure, vascular dementia and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) negatively impact driving performance and contribute to driving cessation among older adults. Future research should examine cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, myocardial infraction or atherosclerosis using naturalistic driving measurement, as well as traditional measures, in order to more fully characterize how these conditions impact older adult driving.