Anger among Young Drivers: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Traffic system, which includes human factors, is an open system that drivers can experience the emotion of anger through either dangerous driving experiences or interactions with other road users. The state of anger that could be observed especially within young driver group, predicts various driving related variables from risk perception to aberrant driving. The main aim of this research is to extensively examine the anger of young driver group as a result of their experiences within traffic. For that purpose, participants were asked to recall a traffic experience that caused them to feel profound anger, and they were asked certain questions related to their specific memory. This study is a qualitative study that have analyzed the transcriptions of 7 male and 7 female participants, 14 in total, which their transcriptions have been acquired through interviews. In this study, Thematic Analysis is preferred and the analysis revealed four themes and fifteen subthemes. Related with the theme of “The Reason of the Incident”, “Intentional Behaviors”, “Individual Characteristics”, “Interactive and Changeable Traffic System”, “Inattentiveness” and “Female Driver” were revealed. Related with “Emotions Felt”, “Anger”, “Frustration”, “Fear”, “Responsibility for Others” and “Long-term Emotional Effects” were revealed. While the theme of “The Main Source of Anger” stands on its own, the last theme, “Reactions after the Incident”, have revealed the subthemes of “Constructive Approach”, “Retaliation”, “Reactions through Gestures and Facial Expressions”, “Communicating through Vehicle” and “Coping”. To examine the relationship between themes, code co-occurrence model of MAXQDA software was used and the revealed affiliations were discussed through theories and phenomena of social psychology literature.

Keywords

• Anger,Young Drivers,Driving Anger,Road Rage,traffic psychology

Genç Sürücülerde Öfke Deneyimleri: Bir Nitel Analiz Çalışması

Abstract

İnsan faktörünü de içerisinde barındıran trafik sistemi, sürücülerin gerek yaşadıkları tehlikeleri olaylarla gerekse diğer yol kullanıcılarıyla olan etkileşimleriyle öfke duygusunu deneyimleyebildikleri açık bir sistemdir. Özellikle genç sürücü grubunda daha yaygın gözlemlenebilen bu öfke durumu, risk algısından sapkın sürücülüğe kadar birçok değişken üzerinde belirleyici rol oynamaktadır. Bu araştırmanın temel hedefi, genç sürücü grubunun trafikte yaşadığı olaylar sonucunda hissettiği öfkeyi derinlemesine incelemektir. Bunun için katılımcılara şiddetli bir şekilde öfkelendikleri bir trafik olayını anımsamaları istenmiş, bu anıya yönelik çeşitli sorular yöneltilmiştir. Bu çalışma, nitel bir çalışma olup, 7 erkek ve 7 kadın katılımcıdan oluşan, toplamda 14 kişiyle yapılan mülakatlar sonucu elde edilen metinlerin analiziyle oluşturulmuştur. Çalışmada Tematik Analiz yöntemi tercih edilmiş ve analizin sonucunda toplamda dört üst tema ile on beş alt tema ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunlar: “Olayın Nedeni” üst temasına bağlı “Niyetli Davranışlar”, “Bireysel Özellikler”, “Etkileşimli ve Değişken Trafik Sistemi”, “Dikkatsizlik” ve “Kadın Sürücü”; “Hissedilen Duygular” üst temasına bağlı “Öfke”, “Sinir Bozukluğu”, “Korku”, “Başkalarına Karşı Sorumluluk” ve “Uzun Süreli Duygusal Etkiler”; “Öfkenin Esas Kaynağı” üst teması ve son olarak “Olay Sonrası Tepkiler” üst temasına bağlı “Alttan Alma”, “Misilleme”, “Jest ve Mimiklerle Gösterilen Tepkiler”, “Araç Aracılığıyla İletişim Kurma” ve “Başa Çıkma” alt temalarıdır. Temaların birbiri ile ilişkisini incelemek adına MAXQDA yazılımının Kod Birlikte Oluşma Modeli kullanılmış olup, ortaya çıkan ilişkiler sosyal psikoloji alanyazınında mevcut kuramlar ve olgular ışığında ele alınmıştır.

Keywords

• genç sürücüler,öfke,sürücülük öfkesi,yol öfkesi,trafik psikolojisi

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