Driving styles and their associations with personality and motivation

Abstract

The associations between driving styles and the Big-Five personality factors and perceived costs and benefits of driving were examined in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of driving styles. Questionnaires tapping driving style, personality traits, motivations for driving, and background variables were completed by 320 drivers (150 men and 170 women). The results show that each driving style is associated with a unique set of sociodemographic, personality, and motivational factors. The reckless and angry styles were both endorsed more by men than women, by younger drivers, and by those displaying higher levels of Extroversion and thrill seeking, and lower levels of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. However, whereas the reckless style was also predicted by the perceived costs of driving-related distress, as well as higher perceived risk to life among those with higher education, the angry style was also predicted by perceptions of both control and annoyance among more educated drivers. The anxious style was endorsed more by women, and by drivers lower on Conscientiousness and higher on Neuroticism. Individuals reporting this style regard driving as a cause of distress and annoyance, and, depending on their level of education, perceive it as entailing more risk to life and as a potential damage to their self-image (higher education), or as providing more opportunities for impression management (lower education). The careful driving style was endorsed more by women, and associated with higher Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, along with higher pleasure (especially among younger drivers), but lower thrill seeking and worries about damage to self-esteem. The discussion focuses on the importance of looking at driving styles and their predictors holistically in order to design practical interventions suited to different profiles of drivers.