A Study Of Aggressive Driving Behavior Based On Social Psychology

This study was aimed at investigating the exhibition of aggressive driving behavior of automobile driver in China, and examining the demographic factors relating to aggressive driving. Furthermore, based on theory of planned behavior model, the study explored how the aggressive driving behavior would be predicted by the attitude of drivers, and identified whether the external motives would affect driver's decision making of aggressive driving. Respondents were 600 drivers with a driver's license in three city of Zhejiang Province in China. Results of this study were showed as follows:(l)The aggressive driving behavior was common in our country. Automobile drivers expressed that they had experienced aggressiveness when they drove their automobile in the road.(2)Aggressive driving behavior included five factors: regardless driving, space occupancy, maintaining progress , gaining advantage, interpersonall aggressive violations.(3)The demographic factors, such as age, gender, driving experience, whether professional, would influence the exhibition of drivers' aggressive driving behavior. And different demographic factors have different effect on different dimensions of aggressive driving behavior. In addition, it was showed that the educational level of drivers did not relate to the aggressive driving behavior.(4)It was demonstrated that aggressive driving behavior could be predicted by a combination of attitudes towards aggressive driving, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control through the intentions which is mediation variable.(5) The external motives, related to time pressure or traffic congestion, would influence drivers' willingness to take aggressive driving behavior. In fact, attitude towards behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and external factorswould predict aggressive driving behavior together through two mediation variables: intentions and external motives.(6)There were gender differences in decision making of aggressive driving behavior. Compared to women's decisions, the decisions of men were more strongly influenced by their attitude towards aggressive driving, subject norm, perceived behavioral control. In contrast, women were more strongly influenced by attitudes towards aggressive driving. It was not found there was any difference between novice drivers and experienced drivers in decision making of aggressive driving behavior. But there was significant difference between novice drivers and experienced drivers in perceived behavioral control.