Temple study finds common personality traits among aggressive drivers

What makes an aggressive driver?

Compulsivity, a strong attachment to your car and a developing self identity, among other factors.

Those were some of the findings in a recent Temple University study on aggressive driving.

Professor Ayalla Ruvio of the Fox School of Business published her study online in Journal of Psychology & Marketing after conducting research of young male and female drivers in Israel. The study, explained here, first tested drivers with a holistic look at the influence of personality, attitudes and values, then added factors of risk attraction, impulsivity, driving as a hedonistic activity and perceptions about time pressures.

The findings suggest those who see their cars as extensions of themselves tend to be more aggressive. This comes in time for Pennsylvania’s Teen Driver Safety Week to educate adolescents (a slightly younger group than those in the Temple study) about safety behind the wheel.