GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGGRESSIVITY AND PERCEIVED STRESS AT ROMANIAN AMATEUR DRIVERS

Transcription

1 International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Psychology Volume 3, ISSUE 1 / GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGGRESSIVITY AND PERCEIVED STRESS AT ROMANIAN AMATEUR DRIVERS POPESCU ALINA University of Bucharest, Department of Psychology Abstract The objective of this paper is studying aggressive behaviour and stress while driving in traffic. It is important for the purpose for identifying the factors which contribute to their development and also for decreasing road accidents. As the literature shows, there is a strong correlation between the risk of accidents and aggressiveness, stress, and ineffective driver coping strategies. It was also found that the men have a more aggressive behaviour than women on the road; however, women report higher levels of stress than men regarding driving stress and are more likely to suffer of posttraumatic stress disorder after a car crash or car accident. The objective of this study is to identify gender differences in aggressiveness level and self-perceived stress and in coping strategies used in traffic. The research focused on highlighting the differences between men and women regarding driving behaviour, however, the target population was represented only by non-professional/amateur drivers, which means that those working in this field were excluded. The sample was composed from 61 participants (22 male and 39 female), aged between 19 and 51 years, with an average age of years. The instruments which were used to measure the constructs are: Aggressive Vienna Test System, to evaluate the aggressiveness manifested by the driver which measures three dimensions (instrumental aggression, affective aggression and fury) and a questionnaire that evaluates stress and coping strategies on the road. The results show that there are statistically significant differences between males and females concerning instrumental aggression, males reporting higher levels than females. The conclusion is that men exhibit some soft aggressive behaviour, meant to achieve their personal goals but not to harm other road users. Regarding the other constructs measured, no significant differences were found between males and females. Keywords: activity of driving, aggressiveness, stress, and coping. 1. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION Tasca (2000 apud Paleti, Eluru, & Bhat, 2010) was, probably, the first to try to officially characterize aggressive driving behaviour. He affirms that the act of driving is aggressive if it is deliberate, can increase the risk of collision and is motivated by impatience, displeasure, hostility and/or the desire to save time. Bushman and Anderson (2001 apud Aniței & Chraif, 2013) supplement the

2 definition by differentiating primary and secondary goals, mentioning that the desire to do harm must be present in order to talk about aggressive driving, but only as a secondary goal. Maxwell, Grant and Lipkin (2005 apud Havârneanu, 2013) found a link between aggressive driving and breaking traffic rules using a sample of drivers from Great Britain, while Kontogiannis, Kossiavelou and Marmaras (2002 apud Havârneanu, 2013) mention that speeding and traffic violations were predicted by a tendency to commit aggressive offences among Greek drivers. A major determining factor of aggressiveness behind the wheel is the desire for revenge (Gulian et al, 1989; Matthews et al, 1991 apud Hennessy, 1999). Revenge has been defined as provocation of evil as a response to the incorrect perception of a message and is often a motivating factor of aggressive behaviour (Stuckless & Goranson, 1992 apud Hennessy, 1999). Aggressiveness based on revenge is not limited only to physical injuries; it can include emotional harm such as humiliation and anger (Gibson & Wiesenthal, 1996 apud Hennessy, 1999). The term road rage is defined as an extreme form of aggressive driving, which implies a deliberate behaviour aimed at causing physical harm to other drivers or even killing them outright (Ellison-Poter, Bell, & Deffenbacher, 2001 apud Săucan, Micle, Popa, & Oancea, 2012). In this context, the term aggressive behaviour is implied to mean: reckless driving, speeding, an unpredictable driving style (sudden changing of lanes or direction), intimidation of other traffic (useless honking, disrespecting minimum safe distances between vehicles, flashing headlights, threats, swearing) and even using weapons or firearms, committing acts of physical aggression, or using the vehicle as a weapon (Mizzel, 1997; Ross, & Antonowicz, 2004 apud Săucan et al, 2012). Thus, aggressiveness behind the wheel represents a traffic violation, implying risky and negligent behaviour, while road rage constitutes a criminal offence that happens when a traffic incident becomes a much worse situation, such as a physical confrontation, attacking others with a vehicle, or weapon use. It is important to mention that the damage done by accident is not considered aggressive driving, because of the lack of intent, regardless of the severity or magnitude of damage. On the other hand, if the perpetrator of the act disregards the potential risks of his actions, this is considered aggressive driving regardless of whether it causes harm or fatalities (Green, 2001 apud Aniței & Chraif, 2013). Aggressive driving is an ever more frequent behaviour (American Automobile Association, 1997; Joint, 1995; Lex Motor Group, 1996 apud Jovanovic, Lipovac, 29

3 Stanojevic, & Stanojevic, 2011), being considered a problem in almost all countries. In the United States of America, the Department of Transportation estimated that, in 1996, approximately two thirds of the deaths caused by traffic accidents could be attributed to aggressive driving (Martinez, 1997 apud Jovanovic et al, 2011). In a study from Great Britain, it was found that over 90% of participants experienced incidents which they perceived as road rage in the last 12 months. Furthermore, in this study, about 60% of drivers admitted to losing their cool behind the wheel in the previous year, while 1% complained about being physically attacked by other drivers (Joint, 1995 apud Jovanovic et al, 2011). Ioana, Chraif & Aniţei (2013) conducted a study regarding the effects of cell phone conversation to reactivity to multiple stimuli, Burtăverde, Chraif & Pandele (2013) highlighted differences between topographic memory and form gestalt perception according to visual processing with one eye versus two eyes, Chraif &Manea (2013) were interested to evidence gender differences in abstract figure short term memory and deductive reasoning and Aniței, Chraif, Burtaverde & Mihăilă (2014) conducted a study regarding The Big Five Personality Factors in the prediction of aggressive driving behavior. Additionally, the results obtained from performing field studies indicate that between 47% and 75% of drivers have witnessed mild forms of aggressiveness in other drivers (such as verbal abuse, rude gestures or excessive honking), while smaller numbers (7.5 to 35%) have been victims of more dangerous forms of aggression, such as disrespecting the minimum distance between vehicles, being forced off the road or being followed. Between 2% and 13% of subjects reported being attacked after a traffic incident occurred (AAMI, 2003, 2004; Roberts & Indermaur, 2005; Smart, Mann, & Studoto, 2003; Victorian Community Council Against Violence, 1999 apud Nesbit & Conger, 2012). Marsh and Collen (1986 apud Novaco, 1989) offer an interesting perspective on the subject discussed considering that the car itself represents a factor of generating aggressiveness in traffic. They described the vehicle as being a special territory, with its own personal space that, if infringed upon, generates fury and aggressiveness. In order to underline the magnitude of aggression in traffic, research done by Parker, Lajunen, and Stradling (1998 apud Iglesias, Fraguela, & Martin, 2012) noted that 89% of 270 drivers admitted to occasionally committing aggressive violations such as driving away other cars, which indicated hostility towards other drivers or excessive honking in order to signal their anger. 30

4 Another study by Malta and his collaborators (2001) sought to compare the physiological reactivity of aggressive and non-aggressive drivers (cardiac rhythm, arterial tension, facial muscular activity and skin electrical resistance) while they experienced a series of scenarios that caused fear, as well as during a standard stress task (mental arithmetics). The results revealed that aggressive drivers show significant increases in muscular and arterial tension during the simulation compared to their non-aggressive counterparts. According to specialised literature, aggressiveness can be conceptualised in many ways, thus permitting various classifications. In the opinion of Bustman and Anderson (2001 apud Aniței & Chraif, 2013) there are two types of aggressiveness: hostile and instrumental. The first is also called emotional, affective, impulsive or reactive and is characterized by strong negative emotions. Fury is the primary cause that instigates and determines hostile aggressive behaviours, though situational and personality related factors also influence the process. It is most often a reaction to the perception of a potential threat. The main objective of emotional aggressiveness is to make a victim suffer physically and/or psychologically damage them. This behaviour does not solve the real source of irritation, but it does make the driver feel better momentarily. Actions such as these are categorised as road rage (Shinar, 1998 apud Bjorklund, 2008). Aniței & Chraif (2013) presented in a handbook the important psychological tests for drivers evaluation in order to predict their performances in traffic. Aniței, Chraif & Sandu (2014) studies Gender Differences in Traffic Risk using a situational test from Vienna Tests System. Chraif & Aniţei (2012) were interested to find out if stereoscopic vision can be included in a possible assessment centre driving schools. Regarding gender differences Chraif (2013a) studied the gender and age differences in time reaction and decision to multiple stimuli and Chraif (2013b) conducted a research regarding gender differences in mental rotation at young romanian students. Also, the same autor was interested in noise influence in attention task (Chraif, 2013c) and the effects of radio noise in multiple reaction time tasks (Chraif, 2012). Several researchers have concluded that, while stress is high, a tendency for high heart rate exists (Healey et al, 2005 apud Miller & Boyle, 2013). Previous studies have demonstrated that a close relationship between unsafe driving and stress exists, as shown by the correlation between high stress value and the ratio of involvement in accidents (Norris et al, 2000 apud Rowden, 2011). The impact of stress on traffic safety is also mediated by behaviours such as cognitive 31

5 lapses, errors and intentional violations of traffic laws (Wickens et al, 2008 apud Rowden 2011). Stress is facilitated by many factors. Unresolved problems like bad weather, insomnia or other sleep difficulties, workplace conflicts and marital issues can all exacerbate situational problems that drivers are confronted with in traffic, therefore raising the stress potential of related pathologies (Hennessy et al, 2000 apud Hennessy, 2003). Fatigue at the wheel represents a major cause for serious accidents (McCartt et al, 2000 apud Taylor & Dorn, 2006) and lead to reduced performance efficiency in driving. McMurray (1970 apud Rowden, Matthews, & Bigss, 2011) examined the recordings from the past 7 years of 410 drivers that had filed for divorce. He noticed that divorced drivers had a higher rate of engagement in accidents and traffic violations, compared to the rest of the population of drivers. Norris et al. (2000 apud Rowden, Matthews, & Bigss, 2011) discovered that financial difficulties raise the risk of involvement in traffic accidents. Hennessy, Wiesenthal and Kohn (2000 apud Rowden, Matthews, & Bigss, 2011) showed that a great exposure to problems or hassles, day to day, can predict the severity of stress when exposed to routine traffic issues. 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1. Objectives and hypotheses Objectives This study aims to explore and clarify some unpleasant aspects of driving, which have become increasingly common in today's crowded traffic conditions. Aggressiveness while driving seems to increase and lead to the diver s loss of control over the vehicle, with various adverse effects on traffic. This research aims to highlight gender differences regarding aggressiveness, self-perceived stress and ways of coping used by amateur drivers Hypotheses 1. There are statistically significant gender differences regarding selfperceived aggression amateur drivers. 32

6 2. There are statistically significant gender differences regarding selfperceived stress amateur drivers. 3. There are statistically significant gender differences in terms of coping techniques to amateur drivers Method Participants The research used two independent groups of voluntary participants and the instruments measuring the envisaged psychological constructs were published online. There were 61 participants (22 men and 39 women) aged between 19 and 51 years old, mean age 28.1 years, age standard deviation of 8.2. The participants in the research were not rewarded in any way. Each study subject previously obtained a driving license and the driving ability was not included in their job description. The participants were amateur drivers as such Instruments For this study were used two questionnaires. The first one, Aggressive Driving Behaviour Questionnaire first Test (AVIS), which is part of the Vienna Test System test battery, was used to measure the level of aggression shown by amateur drivers at the wheel. This questionnaire consists of 36 items, which measure three types of aggression, namely: Instrumental aggression, affective aggression and fury, and responses to these items are evaluated on Likert scale of 1-8 (1 = rarely; 8 = very often). The tool also has a high internal consistency and reliability, with an alpha Cronbach index of The other one the coping questionnaire contains 32 items, the answers to which are measured on a Likert scale of 1-8 (1 = rarely; 8 = very often). This second questionnaire, which is built by myself and not taken from other sources, was designed to evaluate self-perceived stress levels and coping reactions of amateur drivers (Popescu, 2014). It contains items like: "I pray before I hit the road by car"; "The unfavourable weather make me feel stressed and worried at the wheel"; "I often refrain from driving and ask somebody else to do it for me"; "I try to think positively even if traffic is busy"; and so on. The items illustrate the main techniques commonly used to cope with traffic stress, such as: religiosity; avoidance; focusing on the problem; planning; relaxing by listening to music or watching TV programs; alcohol or cigarettes; social support; positivity / negativity, etc. Fidelity and internal consistency of the questionnaire is high, with an alpha Cronbach index of

7 Procedure The data were collected on a voluntary basis, the instruments being published on Google Docs platform, where they were available for about 2 weeks. Before the actual completion of the questionnaires, participants were asked for an informed consent, after they were given information on study objectives, privacy policy and claims related to possible abuse Experimental Design In this study, the independent variable is the gender of the participants (male / female) and the dependent variables are aggressiveness, the level of self-perceived stress and the drivers choices of coping. Non experimental design was the ex post facto method, the sample comprising 61 participants (22 men and 39 women), aged between 19 and 51 years. 3. RESULTS Table 1. Distribution according to gender (frequency) Frequency Percentage Valid Percentage Cumulative Percentage Valid Total Table 1. The study s sample, divided according to gender. (1=male, 2=female) Figure 1. Graphical representation of Table 1 s data in pie chart form. (blue=male, green=female) 34

8 Table 2. Mean, Standard deviation and indicators of distribution shape for all variables within the study N Mean Standard deviation Skewness Kurtosis Value Value Value Value St. Error Value St. Error Instrumental aggression Fury Affective aggression Total aggression Coping and stress Valid N (listwise) 61 Table 2 contains the means, standard deviations and indicators of distribution shape for all study s variables. It is noticeable that the distribution shape indicators are within normal values for all variables except affective aggression, which indicate an abnormal distribution. Moreover, it is observable that the level of instrumental aggressiveness (m=50.21; dev.=20.07) is low compared to the general mean (m=63), the level of fury (m=39.14; dev.=12.96) is greater than the general mean (m=39), the level of affective aggressiveness (m=11.85; dev.=4.71) low compared to the general mean (m=23) and the coping and stress (m=124.06; dev.=25.87) level is greater than the general mean (m=112). The distribution shape indicators show an almost symmetrical fury curve (p=.08), a curve leaning to the left for instrumental aggression (p=.72), affective aggression (p=2.04) and total aggression (p=.45) while the curve for coping and stress (p=-.254) is leaning to the right. Table 3. Results for the nonparametric Kolmogorov Smirnov test applied to all variables Instrumental aggression Fury Affective aggression Total aggression Coping N Normal Parameters Mean Std. Dev Most Extreme Differences Absolute Positive Negative Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z p (bilateral) As the results show that the values obtained for affective aggression do not follow a standard Gaussian distribution (p=0.002 < 0.05) nonparametric tests will be used to test the hypothesis. 35

9 Figure 2. Graphical representation of variable distribution for instrumental aggression Figure 3. Graphical representation of variable distribution for fury. 36

10 Figure 4. Graphical representation of variable distribution for affective aggression. Figure 5. Graphical representation of variable distribution for total aggression. 37

11 Figure 6. Graphical representation of variable distribution for coping and stress. Table 4. Means ranks and rank sums for the study s variables according to gender Gen N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks Instrumental aggression Total 61 Fury Total 61 Affective aggression Total 61 Total aggression Total 61 Coping and stress Total 61 Table 5. Results of the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test for all variables Instrumental aggression Fury Affective aggression Total aggression Coping and stress Mann-Whitney U Wilcoxon W Z P(bilateral)

12 A statistically significant difference between men and women regarding the level of instrumental aggressiveness has been confirmed (U=271; Z=-2.37; p<0.05). Therefore it can be stated that men manifest a higher degree of instrumental aggressiveness than women. The experimental data does not confirm any other significant differences. Thus, no statement can be made regarding fury, affective aggressiveness, total aggressiveness or coping and stress. 3. DISCUSSION The results of this study confirm one of the hypotheses namely that there are statistically significant gender differences on the level of aggression manifested by amateur drivers. Thus, this research shows that aggressive behaviour in traffic is most commonly associated with the male gender, consolidating a well-known relationship between masculinity and powerful tool driving tasks, as reflected by various studies undertaken over the years to which the study refers to. An important contribution of this research is that it offers a new perspective for the study of aggression in traffic, delimitating two types of aggression: instrumental aggression and affective aggression. The first type refers to driving behaviours that are designed to help the aggressor reach his destination or exceed a source of frustration by violating the rights of other fellow drivers (honking, passing the red light, curvature traffic). The second type of aggression is defined as any behaviour aimed at violent physical and psychological injury of the source of frustration. Typical manifestations of this type of aggression include verbal abuse, physical attacks and offensive hand gestures. The authors consider that the findings drawn from this study are useful for achieving road safety and accident prevention, if not otherwise, at least by identifying those risky and aggressive behaviours that can have serious repercussions on other road users. The research also provides a possible basis for explaining aggressiveness at the wheel and helps clarify the tendency of drivers to engage in rule violation and dangerous driving. The results are only relevant in terms of instrumental aggression, men achieving higher scores on this variable than women. The results concerning the level of fury in traffic are not conclusive, but toe the general line of previous studies that have shown the presence of gender differences. Thus, men exhibit a higher level 39

13 of fury when inconvenienced by other road users, while women rarely get angry, even when other traffic participants practice a disorganized and chaotic style of driving (Deffenbacher, 1994 apud Bjorklund, 2008). REFERENCES Aniței, M. & Chraif, M. (2013). Psihologia în Transporturi. București: Editura Universitară. Aniței, M., Chraif, M., Sandu, M.C., (2014). Gender Differences in Traffic Risk assuming and short term memory related to traffic situations. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127, Chraif, M., Aniţei, M. (2012). Evaluation based on stereoscopic vision test within driving schools assessment centre in Zhang, M. (editor), In International Proceedings of Economics, Development and research, Humanity, History and Society ICHHS,34, Chraif, M. (2013a). Gender and age differences in time reaction and decision to multiple stimuli and abstract figure comparison on a romanian sample, Revista de Psihologie a Academiei Române,59(1), Chraif, M. (2013b). Gender Differences in Mental Rotation at Young Romanian Students at Psychology-a Pilot Study, In Vasile, C., Anitei, M. Chraif, M., (Eds.) Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, Chraif, M. (2013c). Influnece of radio noise in attention task among youngsters-a pilot study, Revista de psihologie a Academiei Române, 59 (2), Chraif, M. (2012) The effects of radio noise in multiple time reaction tasks for young students Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 33, Ioana, E. C., Chraif, M., Aniţei, M. (2013). The effects of cell phone conversation to reactivity to multiple stimuli, International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Psychology, 1 (1), pp Burtăverde, V., Chraif, M. & Pandele D. (2013). Differences between topographic memory and form gestalt perception according to visual processing with one eye versus two eyes in young students, International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Psychology,Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp Chraif, M. Manea, G. (2013). Gender diferences in abstract figure short term memory and deductive reasoning-a pilot study, International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Psychology, Vol 1 issue 2, pp Aniței, M., Chraif, M., Burtaverde, V., Mihăilă, T., (2014). The Big Five Personality Factors in the prediction of aggressive driving behavior among romanian youngsters. International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Psychology, 2(1), Bjorklund, G.M. (2008). Driver irritation and aggressive behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, Havârneanu, G. (2013). Psihologia Transporturilor. Iași: Polirom. Hennessy, D.A. (1999). The influence of driving vengeance on aggression and violence. Proceedings of the Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference XI; Nova Scotia: Halifax. 40

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