The role of anger rumination as a mediator in the relationship between driver moral disengagement and driving angry

Abstract

Background: Road rage is a common phenomenon during driving, which not only affects the psychological health of drivers but also may increase the risk of traffic accidents. This article explores the impact of moral disengagement and anger rumination on road rage through two studies.

Method: This research combined experimental studies with survey questionnaires. Study one used a driving simulator to investigate whether moral disengagement and anger rumination are psychological triggers of road rage in real-time driving, and whether there are differences in the main psychological triggers of road rage under different road scenarios. Building on the first study, study two employed a survey questionnaire to analyze the relationship between moral disengagement, anger rumination, and road rage. Participants in both studies were drivers with certain driving ages and experience. Data were processed and analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability and validity tests, and multiple regression analysis.

Results: The findings indicated: (1) There were significant differences in the anger induction rate across different road scenarios, χ2 = 35.73, p < 0.01, effect size = 0.29. Significant differences in average anger levels were observed in scenarios involving oncoming vehicles, lane-cutting, sudden stops by the vehicle ahead, pedestrians crossing the road, and traffic congestion (F = 20.41, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.36), with anger rumination playing a major role in the formation of road rage; (2) Moral disengagement significantly predicted road rage (β = 0.25, t = 3.85, p < 0.01). The predictive effect of moral disengagement on anger rumination was significant (β = 0.39, t = 6.17, p < 0.01), as was the predictive effect of anger rumination on road rage (β = 0.43, t = 6.3, p < 0.01). The direct effect of moral disengagement on road rage included 0 in the bootstrap 95% confidence interval, while the mediating effect of anger rumination did not include 0 in the bootstrap 95% confidence interval, indicating that anger rumination fully mediated the relationship between moral disengagement and road rage.

Keywords: Anger rumination; Driving anger; Moral disengagement.

Fig. 1

Driving simulator platform.

Fig. 2

Traffic jam.

Fig. 3

Pedestrians crossing the road.

Fig. 4

Other vehicles jumping the road.

Fig. 5

Emergency stop of the front vehicle.

Fig. 6

Opposite direction traffic in reverse.

Fig. 7

Intermediary effects model.