Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Apr 2021)
The Moderating Effects of Emotions on the Relationship Between Self-Reported Individual Traits and Actual Risky Driving Behaviors
Abstract
Yaqi Liu,1 Xiaoyuan Wang,2,3 Yongqing Guo1 1School of Transportation and Vehicle Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Electromechanical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Joint Laboratory for Internet of Vehicles, Ministry of Education-China Mobile Communications Corporation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaoyuan WangCollege of Electromechanical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, No. 99 Songling Road, Qingdao, 266000, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 138 6445 5865Fax +86 532 8895 6166Email [email protected]: Researches addressing driving behaviors have not fully revealed how emotions affect risky driving behaviors and tend to focus on the effects of some negative emotions rather than those of more specific emotions. This study aimed to test the potential moderating effects of eight common driving emotions on the relationship between self-reported individual traits (sensation seeking and driving style) and actual risky driving behaviors, sequentially providing some implications for the risky driving behavior prevention.Participants and Methods: A total of 78 licensed drivers were recruited from undergraduate students, company employees and taxi drivers in China. The participants’ data on self-reported driving style (SDBS) and self-reported sensation seeking (SSSS) were obtained through questionnaires. The participants’ data on actual risky driving behaviors (ARD) in eight driving emotional activation states were obtained through a series of emotion induction experiments and driving experiments. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and moderating effect tests were employed to investigate the relationships of driving emotions, SDBS, SSSS and ARD.Results: Results showed that anger and pleasure affected risky driving behaviors positively by enhancing the relationship between SDBS and ARD, while surprise and fear were negatively related to risky driving behaviors by weakening this relationship. Anxiety positively affected risky driving behaviors by synchronously enhancing the relationship between SDBS and ARD and the relationship between SSSS and ARD, while helplessness and relief affected risky driving behaviors negatively by weakening the two relationships. Contempt affected risky driving behaviors positively by enhancing the relation between SSSS and ARD.Conclusion: The results illustrated the effects of different emotions on risky driving behaviors, and also partly explained the reasons for these effects. This research provided a source of reference for reducing traffic accidents caused by risky driving behaviors.Keywords: driving emotion, sensation seeking, driving style, risky driving behavior, moderating effect, SEM