Citation

Schwebel DC, Yocom JS. Ecol. Psychol. 2007; 19(1): 49-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reports on a study of motor vehicle safety factors that are based in ecological theory. The authors designed their study to test factors that might influence motor vehicle drivers' judgments of passability and fit-ability affordances. The authors tested personality and behavioral reinforcement as factors that might influence automobile drivers' judgments of affordances in three tasks: driving forward through a gap, driving backward through a gap, and fitting into a parallel-parking spot. Their results suggest that personality does not relate to judgment of driving environment affordances, but institution of a behavioral reward system causes drivers to judge affordances in different ways. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for automobile safety intervention.