Modeling Aggressive Driving: Assessing Low Self-Control
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MODELING AGGRESSIVE DRIVING: ASSESSING LOW SELF-CONTROL THEORY WITH THE GENERAL AGGRESSION MODEL By YU-SHENG LIN A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Program in Criminal Justice August 2009 To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of YU-SHENG LIN find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Nicholas P. Lovrich, Ph.D., Chair ___________________________________ Faith E. Lutze, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Jeffrey Joireman, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion and success of this dissertation would not have been possible without the constant support and help from many individuals. I owe a special thanks to all the people who played significant roles during my Ph.D. studies. My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Professor Nicholas P. Lovrich, the chair of my dissertation committee and also my advisor for the past six years. I thank him, from the bottom of my heart, for his wise and evenhanded guidance, infinite patience, and strong faith in me. To date, he has guided and supported me through every stage of my academic career. I truly appreciate the full confidence he had in my abilities and the continuing care and encouragement he gave me during difficult times. It is indeed a great blessing and honor to have Dr. Lovrich as my mentor. Next, I would like to thank my two committee members, Professor Faith E. Lutze and Professor Jeff Joireman for their thoughtful suggestions, generosity with their time, and their constant reminders about the importance of integrating ideas from the psychology, justice, and methodological fields. Dr. Lutze is the first person I met in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice Program. Since then, she has always provided her support and guidance to me, especially when I had questions about my academic course of study and future career. I also thank Dr. Joireman, a social psychologist, for introducing me to many interesting and powerful psychological theories and for his detailed comments, which were immensely helpful for this study. I would also like to acknowledge Professor William Budd, who encouraged me throughout the dissertation process. I am very thankful to Dr. Budd for his efforts to further my academic career. Many thanks are also due to the Division of iii Governmental Studies and Services, especially, Ruth Self, Michael Gaffiney, and Julie Lusby. It has been wonderful experience working closely with them. iv ABSTRACT MODELING AGGRESSIVE DRIVING: ASSESSING LOW SELF-CONTROL THEORY WITH THE GENERAL AGGRESSION MODEL Abstract by Yu-Sheng Lin, Ph.D. Washington State University August 2009 Chair: Nicholas P. Lovrich Aggressive driving behavior is a serious problem in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Since the late 1940’s numerous researchers have tried to understand why individuals engage in aggressive, and a majority of them come at the problem from a psychological perspective. While aggressive driving is a serious traffic offense, the subject has not been addressed very widely in the criminal justice literature. Most importantly, most of the limited studies undertaken in this area have not been couched within a comprehensive theory which could be tested against empirical evidence. The present study attempts to understand aggressive driving viewed as a criminological issue, and it explores the utility of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory (1990) as applied within the framework of Psychology’s General Aggression Model (GAM, Anderson & Bushman, 2002). Two separate studies featuring independent samples and different but related measures are used to explore how four low self-control personality traits — sensation seeking, impulsivity, consideration of future v consequences [CFC], and anger or temper arousal — relate to risky driving and aggressive driving within the framework of the GAM. Results of both Study 1 and study 2 reveal similar evidence to support the research hypotheses: 1) sensation seeking, impulsivity, and CFC might be associated with aggressive driving through their possible relationships with temperamental personality (e.g., trait of temper arousal); 2) sensation seekers might create the situations (e.g., risky driving) for themselves to act aggressively; and 3) impulsive people and sensation seekers may become frustrated by different driving conditions, and the level of frustration may mediate the effects of impulsivity and sensation seeking on aggressive driving. This study extends the research of low self control theory by demonstrating how the personality traits involved in this construct are associated with criminal/analogue deviant behaviors. The findings not only validate the meditational model of the GAM, but also imply that the GAM could serve as a useful framework to study the phenomenon of violent crime and property crime in future research. More importantly, this study offers several actionable implications for the driver education curriculum, for aggressive driving prevention, and aggressive driving post-offense treatment programs. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLE ................................................................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. xiii CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ....................................................... 1 The Problem of Aggressive Driving ............................................................................................. 2 Public Perception of the Problem ................................................................................................. 7 Definitions of Aggressive Driving ............................................................................................... 9 Factors that Contribute to Aggressive Driving ........................................................................... 15 Situational/Environment Conditions ...................................................................................... 15 Personality/Dispositional Factors ........................................................................................... 17 Demographic/Personal Background Variables ....................................................................... 24 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER TWO THEORICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY OF AGGRESSIVE DRIVING ................................................................................................................. 28 Low Self-Control Theory ........................................................................................................... 29 Classical and Positivist Criminology ...................................................................................... 29 Integrating Classical and Positivist Conceptions of Crime .................................................... 31 A General Theory of Crime and Delinquency ........................................................................ 33 The Elements of Self-Control ................................................................................................. 34 Sources of Self-Control .......................................................................................................... 37 vii Measuring Self-Control .......................................................................................................... 39 Imprudent Behavior versus Attitudunal Indicator .................................................................. 43 Assessing Self-control Theory................................................................................................ 45 General Aggression Model (GAM) ............................................................................................ 47 Single Episode Cycle .............................................................................................................. 48 Developmental Cycle ............................................................................................................. 51 Violence Escalation Cycle ...................................................................................................... 53 The Implications of GAM ...................................................................................................... 55 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER THREE HYPOTHESES AND METHOLOGY ......................................... 60 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................. 63 Study 1 .......................................................................................................................................