The purpose of the current study was to provide the first comprehensive examination of the applicability of Weiner's (1995, 1996) attributional model of social conduct to the roadway environment. Study 1 adopted a written scenario methodology where participants were asked to imagine themselves driving on a major highway. The vignette described another driver who cuts in front of the participant causing him or her to brake suddenly. The degree of Controllability and Intentionality of the driving act was experimentally manipulated by altering the specific event-related details provided to the participants. Study 2 adopted a diary study methodology, whereby participants completed on-line driving diaries every two days identifying their most negative/upsetting encounter with another motorist. After completing four diaries, the most anger-provoking event from the diary entries was selected and participants were asked to respond to a questionnaire similar to that used in Study 1. Path analyses in both studies generally demonstrated the hypothesized relationships proposed by Weiner's model and confirmed the fit of the model to the data. Study 2 demonstrated that the model provided a good means of classifying a diversity of offensive driver behaviours, even in the presence of many uncontrolled real-world variables. The results of these studies have significant implications for research into driving-related stereotypes, the role of individual difference variables in driver anger and aggression, and the potential influence of cognitive load on driver behaviour. As well, the research findings provide several recommendations for improved driver safety including the development of attributional retraining programs, teaching novice drivers about both formal and informal roadway communication, and the promotion of forgiveness in the driving environment. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting