From trait anger to aggressive violations in road traffic

Abstract

Drivers' beliefs and attitudes are known to be precursors of driving behavior, mediating the relationship between it and personality traits. However, the mediation effect of these beliefs on the relationship between trait anger and aggressive driving is not fully understood. The present study examined how the variance in the total numbers of violations, ordinary violations, and aggressive violations was explained by anger and behavioral, normative and control beliefs, and how much of this variation was explained by a linear combination of anger and any of these beliefs. A sample of 224 participants completed a series of instruments tapping into trait anger, attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, total number of violations, aggressive violations, and ordinary violations. The results showed that trait anger controlled approximately 9% of the variation in the total number of violations and aggressive violations and 6.5% of ordinary violations, while behavioral beliefs (through attitude) added a further 9.2–11.6%. The intention, which prior research linked to the manifestation of the behavior, explained a further 21.6% in aggressive violations in our study. Attitude mediated the relationship between trait anger and behavioral outcomes, the linear combination of trait anger and attitude accounting for 40.7% in intention, 17.6% in aggressive violations, 22.5% in the total number of violations and 25% in ordinary violations. The role of behavioral beliefs was greater when the level of aggressive violation decreased. Aggressive violations are less intentional than other behaviors that lead to violations, making it very important to consider both attitude toward behavior and trait anger to reduce them. Limitations and directions for further research are also discussed.