Researchers Using Psychology to Pinpoint Aggressive Drivers
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Felix Mizioznikov/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — All it might take to reduce aggressive driving habits is a little psychological science.
U.S. and Canadian researchers admit the idea has great potential even if it’s something that’s going to need a lot more study.
Christine Wickens with the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and NYU researchers have discovered that certain factors related to people and situations result in anger behind the wheel.
For example, a prime candidate for aggressive behavior is someone who is young, competitive, achievement-motivated and overwhelmed by incoming sensory information.
Meanwhile, the situation is ripe for driver aggression when they’re placed in tight urban centers, compounded by others who drive offensively.
What Wickens and the other researchers believe might help are programs that allow aggressive drivers to identify what triggers their anger while also providing relaxation techniques that might help them avoid potentially dangerous behavior.
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