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Forgiveness and consideration of future consequences in aggressive driving
1The University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Psychology, 118 College Drive #5025, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001, USA.
Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|September 2, 2008
Summary
This study found that trait forgiveness and consideration of future consequences can reduce aggressive driving and anger expression. These adaptive personality traits may help prevent accidents.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Traffic Safety
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Aggressive driving research often focuses on personality traits that exacerbate it, such as sensation seeking and impulsiveness.
- Previous studies have not explored personality factors that may reduce aggressive driving risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of trait forgiveness and consideration of future consequences in predicting aggressive driving and driving anger expression.
- To determine the incremental validity of these traits beyond demographic factors and driving anger.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 316 college student volunteers.
- Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to analyze the data.
- Assessed trait forgiveness, consideration of future consequences, aggressive driving, and driving anger expression.
Main Results:
- Both trait forgiveness and consideration of future consequences significantly predicted lower levels of aggressive driving.
- These traits also predicted reduced driving anger expression, independent of existing driving anger levels.
- The findings held true even after controlling for gender, age, and weekly mileage.
Conclusions:
- Adaptive personality traits like forgiveness and consideration of future consequences can mitigate aggressive driving behaviors.
- Incorporating these risk-reducing traits into future research may enhance understanding of aggressive driving.
- These findings suggest potential implications for accident prevention strategies.
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