Citation

Ellison-Potter P, Bell P, Deffenbacher J. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 2001; 31(2): 431-443.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1559-1816.2001.tb00204.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

We examined the effects of trait driving anger, aggressive stimuli, and anonymity on aggressive driving behavior in a driving simulation task. High and low driving anger participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) anonymous vs. identifiable driver; and (b) exposure to aggressive stimuli versus nonaggressive stimuli. Participants drove more aggressively when they were anonymous (d = .28) and exposed to aggressive stimuli (d = .05). Males drove more aggressively than did females (d = .06). No main or interaction effects were found for trait driving anger (road rage). Results suggest that situational factors affecting other forms of aggression are also important in aggressive driving.