Understanding Aggressive Driving: The Role of Personality and Individual Differences

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to examine the role of personality and individual differences on aggressive driving. It was hypothesized that personality and individual differences would be significantly related to aggressive driving behavior. A sample of n = 252 participants from a southeastern university and surrounding community were required to complete a series of driving questionnaires; the ADBQ, DBQ, and CFQ-D; and a series of personality questionnaires; the IPIP-NEO-PIR and BFI. Our results indicated that personality factors and individual differences significantly predicted aggressive driving outcomes. These results provided a preliminary personality based characteristic profile of the aggressive driver. These results also support the use of trait anger and trait cooperation independently from the subscales they are derived from (Neuroticism and Agreeableness) to predict aggressive driving behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.