> The study participants were 178 university students (127 female, 51 male)
who were 18 to 42 years of age (M = 20.8 years, SD = 3.0). Participants who
owned a vehicle completed the survey for extra credit in a 200-level Psycho-
logical Methods course. The extra credit was equal to less than 1% of their
total grades, with approximately 90% of students participating.
.
> Study 2
> The study participants were 203 students (119 female, 84 male) who were
enrolled in an introductory psychology class and who owned a vehicle.
The students completed the study as part of a course research requirement.
Participants ranged in age from 17 to 43 years (M = 18.7 years, SD = 2.0).
Participants were predominantly Caucasian (88.7%). Other ethnicities
included Native American/Alaska Native (0.5%), African American (2.0%),
Asian (4.4%), and Latino (4.4%). All vehicles were manufactured between
1966 and 2005 (Mdn = 1996; mode = 2002), and length of ownership ranged
from 2 weeks to 15 years (M = 26.8 months, SD = 22.0).
.
> Study 3
> Study participants were 69 students (38 female, 31 male) who participated
in the study in partial fulfillment of a research requirement for an introduc-
tory psychology class. The participants were all between the ages of 18 and 22
years (M = 18.8, SD = 1.2).
All students owned their own vehicles. The vehicles were all manufactured
between 1978 and 2004 (Mdn = 1997; mode = 2002). Time of ownership
ranged from 2 months to 13.3 years (M = 26.2 months, SD = 22.2). As with
the other studies—and characteristic of this university—the sample was pre-
dominantly Caucasian (87.0%). Other ethnicities included Latino (5.8%) and
Asian (7.2%).
griffzhowl · 46m ago
I remember someone, I think it was Joseph Heinrich, pointing out that a lot of psychology should really be thought of as "psychology of the contemporary American undergrad", since these are the most-studied population
HPsquared · 12m ago
aka the Streetlight effect.
'A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, "this is where the light is".'
Anecdotal, but if you keep an eye out for people with damage to their car, they will often be almost causing a collision that would hit the same spot.
I tend to think of it that they didn’t learn the lesson, although I suppose a more charitable version is they they didn’t actually make contact this time.
anticorporate · 1h ago
I suspect there's a similar link between a vehicle's noise level and driver aggression, although I suppose intentionally loud cars are just another territorial marker.
tlb · 1h ago
Tesla and Waymo must have huge data sets that could be used to correlate driver badness with the appearance of their vehicle. It's probably not in their interest to publish such data, but one can hope.
kej · 20m ago
I feel like they'd have some interest in publicizing the worst of human drivers to make robots seem better in comparison, and this could tie into that.
profsummergig · 2h ago
I like this sort of study/theory that imparts practical, actionable tips on how to reduce problems in one's life.
Been on a driving safety kick lately. There's lots of alpha on the table. My most important rules for myself: minimize driving, avoid rush hours.
Spooky23 · 1h ago
People signal some of this stuff with vehicle and “aesthetic” choice as well. It’s sort of the human equivalent of a dog marking a tree.
nradov · 1h ago
There are plenty of signals. For example, Nissan is notorious for being willing to finance "credit criminals" whom other brands won't touch. And while not everyone with a low credit score is also an unsafe driver, the correlation is pretty strong.
Lyngbakr · 30m ago
I find drivers of nonwork pickup trucks to be particularly aggressive on the road.
toast0 · 1h ago
I'd imagine most of the worst credit people are buying from buy here, pay here lots. Those lots have all sorts of cars, so I dunno why there would be a brand trend, other than towards lower priced vehicles.
hungmung · 1h ago
Drivers on their phones scare the living shit out of me. I've driven across America way too many times, and there are a lot of people on the interstate that are texting or just browsing the internet while they drive at full speed. My partner riding shotgun would count them but it became somewhat impractical after a while. There's a trope in my head now of teens/young-20's driving fucked up Altimas going 90mph+ down the interstate with their eyes down on their phones and not looking at what's in front of them at all. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen one rear end a semi ala Jayne Mansfield by now, which is apparently becoming not uncommon.
Edit: forgot to add. I was one of the first vehicles to the scene of somebody who plowed head-on into a boulder while driving about 60mph. Killed 4 people. I was able to find the police report later and it turns out the driver was updating her Instagram in the moments leading up to the crash. That sort of thing leaves an impression on you when you see it first hand.
ToucanLoucan · 1h ago
There's a subreddit called "NissanDrivers" that studies and proliferates the notion that drivers of Nissan's are uniquely bad, regardless of age, citing numerous data points. Namely:
* It's common to see Nissans in the wild with body damage
* It's culturally known or at least assumed that Nissan will finance a vehicle for basically anyone, no matter how bad their credit is
* Nissans regularly engage in aggressive driver behaviors and driving patterns
Why it is so many problematic drivers are attracted to Nissans (and other "budget" brands, like Kia and Hyundai which also feature regularly on the sub) seems to come down largely to... well, people who make good choices in life don't generally sign an 84-month loan that will end with them having spent $70,000 on a car that costed $27,000. There's an air of classism to the entire thing, however it's difficult to disagree with based on what's shown.
Obviously that's all extremely prone to confirmation bias and all manner of prejudices so to be clear, I'm not saying I agree, I'm just saying it's interesting how Nissan as a brand is so widely associated with poor people who allegedly make bad decisions, financial, and in their driving. It's also worth noting (and probably what's anchoring this impression is) that Nissans are, in spite of their awful financing, cheap. As are Kias and Hyandais, so more people own them at scale, and therefore more bad drivers also own them at scale. Once the narrative is in the wild, there's little that will arrest it from being "confirmed" by people and passed along as understood fact.
They also have a ton of bumper stickers, too.
hungmung · 1h ago
It's not just Nissan drivers, and it's not just younger people, but younger people are definitely the most egregious. I do roll my eyes when they're in a Nissan missing the front bumper though
Wouldn't rush hour be safer since the average speed is much lower?
CWuestefeld · 1h ago
No. The trope that faster speeds are more dangerous is at least misleading, and possibly outright false.
It's certainly true that a given accident would be more severe if speeds are higher. That's just physics.
However, in at least some circumstances, accidents are more likely to occur at slower speeds. In your example, rush hour has both more accidents and slower speeds. But also, there's a well-documented effect of a "risk thermostat", where people tend to balance risk such that they exhibit less care when other things would be making things safer. Thus, when speeds are slower, people perceive greater safety and are (maybe subconsciously) more willing to engage in offsetting risks such as playing with their phones or just daydreaming, just because they can. The result is that slower speeds can lead to a greater quantity of accidents (even if those accidents are of lower severity because they were slower).
What remains to be proven is how those two effects offset each other. It's not clear whether the "greater severity" or "more accidents" effect dominates the overall picture.
throwaway173738 · 1h ago
The increased traffic density changes people’s behavior in a really significant way.
chatmasta · 2h ago
This is just a link to an abstract.
bookofjoe · 1h ago
>Looking to Avoid Aggressive Drivers? Check Those Bumpers.
It's based on three surveys:
> Study 1
> The study participants were 178 university students (127 female, 51 male) who were 18 to 42 years of age (M = 20.8 years, SD = 3.0). Participants who owned a vehicle completed the survey for extra credit in a 200-level Psycho- logical Methods course. The extra credit was equal to less than 1% of their total grades, with approximately 90% of students participating.
.
> Study 2
> The study participants were 203 students (119 female, 84 male) who were enrolled in an introductory psychology class and who owned a vehicle. The students completed the study as part of a course research requirement. Participants ranged in age from 17 to 43 years (M = 18.7 years, SD = 2.0). Participants were predominantly Caucasian (88.7%). Other ethnicities included Native American/Alaska Native (0.5%), African American (2.0%), Asian (4.4%), and Latino (4.4%). All vehicles were manufactured between 1966 and 2005 (Mdn = 1996; mode = 2002), and length of ownership ranged from 2 weeks to 15 years (M = 26.8 months, SD = 22.0).
.
> Study 3
> Study participants were 69 students (38 female, 31 male) who participated in the study in partial fulfillment of a research requirement for an introduc- tory psychology class. The participants were all between the ages of 18 and 22 years (M = 18.8, SD = 1.2). All students owned their own vehicles. The vehicles were all manufactured between 1978 and 2004 (Mdn = 1997; mode = 2002). Time of ownership ranged from 2 months to 13.3 years (M = 26.2 months, SD = 22.2). As with the other studies—and characteristic of this university—the sample was pre- dominantly Caucasian (87.0%). Other ethnicities included Latino (5.8%) and Asian (7.2%).
'A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, "this is where the light is".'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetlight_effect
I tend to think of it that they didn’t learn the lesson, although I suppose a more charitable version is they they didn’t actually make contact this time.
Been on a driving safety kick lately. There's lots of alpha on the table. My most important rules for myself: minimize driving, avoid rush hours.
Edit: forgot to add. I was one of the first vehicles to the scene of somebody who plowed head-on into a boulder while driving about 60mph. Killed 4 people. I was able to find the police report later and it turns out the driver was updating her Instagram in the moments leading up to the crash. That sort of thing leaves an impression on you when you see it first hand.
* It's common to see Nissans in the wild with body damage
* It's culturally known or at least assumed that Nissan will finance a vehicle for basically anyone, no matter how bad their credit is
* Nissans regularly engage in aggressive driver behaviors and driving patterns
Why it is so many problematic drivers are attracted to Nissans (and other "budget" brands, like Kia and Hyundai which also feature regularly on the sub) seems to come down largely to... well, people who make good choices in life don't generally sign an 84-month loan that will end with them having spent $70,000 on a car that costed $27,000. There's an air of classism to the entire thing, however it's difficult to disagree with based on what's shown.
Obviously that's all extremely prone to confirmation bias and all manner of prejudices so to be clear, I'm not saying I agree, I'm just saying it's interesting how Nissan as a brand is so widely associated with poor people who allegedly make bad decisions, financial, and in their driving. It's also worth noting (and probably what's anchoring this impression is) that Nissans are, in spite of their awful financing, cheap. As are Kias and Hyandais, so more people own them at scale, and therefore more bad drivers also own them at scale. Once the narrative is in the wild, there's little that will arrest it from being "confirmed" by people and passed along as understood fact.
They also have a ton of bumper stickers, too.
It's certainly true that a given accident would be more severe if speeds are higher. That's just physics.
However, in at least some circumstances, accidents are more likely to occur at slower speeds. In your example, rush hour has both more accidents and slower speeds. But also, there's a well-documented effect of a "risk thermostat", where people tend to balance risk such that they exhibit less care when other things would be making things safer. Thus, when speeds are slower, people perceive greater safety and are (maybe subconsciously) more willing to engage in offsetting risks such as playing with their phones or just daydreaming, just because they can. The result is that slower speeds can lead to a greater quantity of accidents (even if those accidents are of lower severity because they were slower).
What remains to be proven is how those two effects offset each other. It's not clear whether the "greater severity" or "more accidents" effect dominates the overall picture.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/0...
https://www.academia.edu/25283398/Territorial_Markings_as_a_...