Age stereotypes and compliance with feedback in elderly drivers

Abstract

In spite of their increased risk of causing traffic accidents, older drivers often overestimate their own driving abilities. To develop a realistic assessment of driving abilities, as well as proper self-regulation, feedback from relatives or friends who point out dangerous driving situations is often helpful. However, an open question remains as to how older car drivers respond to such feedback. We conducted a telephone (Study 1, n = 281) and an online survey (Study 2, n = 285) and asked older drivers how they would respond to feedback about their driving behavior. Because previous research has shown positive effects of age stereotypes on behavior in the area of health psychology, we assumed that elderly people with positive age stereotypes see themselves as able to improve and change their behavior, and thus are open to feedback on their driving behavior. In line with this hypothesis, we found overall a strong positive relation between positive age stereotypes and openness to feedback on driving behavior. The positive effect of positive age stereotypes on openness to feedback was not offset by the fact that older drivers with positive age stereotypes perceive themselves as less vulnerable versus other older drivers, and was not moderated according to different feedback givers.