8/31/2011
Nancy Rhodes, Ph.D.
Department of Communication Studies, IUPUI
M‐CASTL Presentation
May 3, 2011
Teen Boys are at Greater Risk than Teen Girls
y Boys
Boys’ crashes are:
crashes are:
y Higher speed
y More likely to leave roadway
y More likely to be rollover
y Therefore, greater risk of injury and death
,g
j y
Source: Rhodes, Brown, & Edison (2005)
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Prior Work
y Crash statistics
y Describing the risk
y Personality studies
y Identifying who is at risk
y
y
y
Demographics – teens, males
High sensation seekers
High masculine traits
y Gaps in Research
y Identifying the mechanism for changing the behavior of those at risk
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Mechanisms for Change
y Identify characteristics that ARE changeable that are related to risk
y Affect/Attitudes
y Beliefs
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Methods Used
yQ
Qualitative research – focus groups
g p
y In depth look at beliefs, attitudes, perceptions
y Quantitative research
y Attitudes and norms
y School‐based and phone surveys
y Lab‐based assessments
y
Use of reaction time procedures
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Focus Groups: What Driving Means to Teens
y Driving as freedom
y Can go where they want
y Driving as fun activity
y Driving around with friends is fun
y Racing is fun
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The Role of Affect in Driving
y Teen’s reports of risky driving emphasize positive Teen s reports of risky driving emphasize positive affect
y Theoretical explanations: y Affect heuristic y
Slovic – tradeoff between liking and risk perception
y What we like is perceived of as LESS risky
y Dual Process Models l
d l
Phone Survey
y Driving behavior questions
y Acceleration/Braking
y Speeding
y Aggressive driving (switching lanes; tailgating)
y Racing
y Ratings of g
y Frequency
y Liking
y Risk
Source: Rhodes & Pivik (2011) AAP
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Age and Driving Behavior
y Regression of risky driving on age, positive affect g
y
g
g ,p
and risk perception.
Predictor
Age Group
Positive Affect Risk Perception
Affect X Risk
Affect X Age
Risk X Age
Affect X Risk X Age
Beta
.02
.34***
‐.28***
‐.07
07
.11*
.11*
.07
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Interaction of Risk Perception and Age
2.5
Risky Driving
2
Adult
Teen
1.5
1
‐1.00
1.00
Risk Perception
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Interaction of Positive Affect and Age
Risky Driving
2.5
2
Adult
Teen
1.5
1
‐1.00
1.00
Positive Affect
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Sex and Driving Behavior
y Regression of risky driving on sex, positive affect and risk perception.
ti
Predictor Sex
Positive Affect
Risk Perception
Affect X Risk
Affect X Sex
Ri k X Sex
Risk
X S
Affect X Risk X Sex
β
‐.02
.29***
‐.28***
‐.03
.16***
.11**
.02
Note: Sex is coded such that 0=Female, 1=Male. All continuous variables were standardized prior to analysis.
*p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001 6
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Interaction of Risk Perception and Gender
2.5
Risky Driving
2
Female
Male
1.5
1
‐1.00
1.00
Risk Perception
Interaction of Positive Affect and Gender
2.5
Risky Driving
2
Female
Male
1.5
1
‐1.00
1.00
Positive Affect
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Implications
y Positive affect and perceived risk are mediators
y Positive affect and perceived risk separately contribute to driving behavior
y Approaches to change either should be effective
y Positive affect is a stronger predictor of driving for riskier drivers
y Suggests that focusing on affect is more appropriate for teen and male drivers
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Social Influence and affect
y Experimental study
y Positive vs. negative mood
y Driving alone or with a friend
y Simulator sample
y All male sample
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Current Directions
y Examining how teens process safe driving messages
y Affectively neutral vs. Affectively engaging
y Also examining personality variables y Approach/avoidance motivation
y Gender role
y Goal is to better match messages to teens
g
y Try to change affect surrounding driving
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Is it Risky to be Happy?
y It depends, but in general,
y Yes.
y Efforts to moderate positive affect toward driving may be effective
y
y
Happy=mindless
Help teens be more mindful while driving
Acknowledgement
y Injury Control Research Center j y
y University of Alabama Birmingham
y Institute for Social Science Research
y University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
y Centers for Disease Control
y Graduate Students at UA:
y Marnie Sutton
M i S
y Kelly Pivik
y Project Coordinator: Nita Hestevold
y Contact: rhodesn@iupui.edu
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