Psychological Reactivity Characterizes Aggressive Driving

Their muscles tighten; their blood pressure rises; they're ready to hit the road. According to a new study, self-described aggressive drivers have a more pronounced physiological response to certain driving scenarios than their calm-headed peers.

Aggressive drivers appear to be not only more aggressive and angrier on the road, but also angrier in general, say Loretta S. Malta and her associates at the University of Albany. Their bodies seem to be more reactive, as measured by facial muscle tension and blood pressure during three different stressful narratives and a mental-arithmetic task.

"The combined increases in muscle tension and blood pressure observed during all four stressors suggest that the aggressive drivers may have a tendency to respond to emotionally evocative or challenging situations with hostile and/or defensive behaviors," she says.

The researchers suggest that these drivers may benefit from being taught relaxation techniques, possibly to include muscle relaxation.

The study, which included 14 aggressive drivers and 14 calm drivers, is published in the June issue of Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback.

Aggressive driving was defined as "antagonistic behavior directed towards another driver (e.g., tailgating, cutting cars off), as well as frequent, excessive speeding. Drivers who only endorsed mildly aggressive behaviors such as occasional, non-excessive speeding (e.g., 5-10 mph over the speed limit), or making derogatory comments that were not audible to the other driver were excluded."

Working in the laboratory setting, the researchers measured forehead muscle tension, average and peak heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and skin resistance level (to measure sweating) while the aggressive and non-aggressive drivers did math in their heads; while they listened to customized driving narratives and while they listened to a fear-inducing vignette.

In the aggressive drivers, blood pressure and muscle tension rose, from baseline measurements, significantly more so than in the non-aggressive drivers. In contrast, heart rate and skin resistance varied less during the mental math and fear narrative in aggressive drivers compared with non-aggressive drivers.

The latter finding is consistent with earlier studies that have shown that increased sweating, a normal response to stress-provoking stimuli, may be reduced in antisocial people, the investigators say.

Ms. Malta and co-author, Dr. Edward Blanchard, run a free workshop for aggressive drivers at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders of the University of Albany. The program combines cognitive-behavioral approaches and relaxation to help drivers learn how to manage their aggression and anger.

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Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback is an international peer-reviewed journal published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers in association with the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. For information about the journal, contact Frank Andrasik, Ph.D., at (850) 202-4460. For copies of the article, contact the Center for the Advancement of Health at 202.387.2829 or e-mail press@cfah.org