Purpose: The mystery of driver psychology has
intrigued everyone who has sat behind a steering wheel and thought about
that guy tailgaiting behind them. This week, Scientific AmeriKen will
probe into the mind of drivers in attempt to correlate driving styles with
self esteem.
Hypothesis: Because low self esteem is the marker
of a person who does not feel secure with themself, then it is the hypothesis
of this experiment that those who are deemed by society as "bad drivers"
are those who are lacking in self esteem. The basis of this assumption
is that the person will attempt to fullfill their need for self-esteem
by taking an automobile to the limits of their control to gain a sense
of power.
Equipment: Need for this experiment is a copy
of the ISE (index of self esteem). In addition several questions
were added on to the questionaire for the purpose of gathering information
about driving style. (click here for test form)
Procedure: The first step is to administer a
questionaire to each participant. Make sure that the participant is allowed
to take the test in privacy, collect the test when the participant is done,
and tally results.
Results: For Scoring the ISE, problem numbers
3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, and 25 are reverse scored, the total
is then added up. This test is reverse scored, therefore scores above 30
are said to have a clinically significant self esteem problem, while scores
below 30 are said to be normal..
| Result of ISE |
|
|
|
| Above 30 |
|
|
|
| Below 30 |
|
|
|
Conclusion: Based on the results it appears
that no correlation can be deduced. It would seem that those high self
esteem people who drive fast are just lucky enough to be ticket free, perhaps
because they have enough self esteem to argue out of tickets. In all, this
study lacks the numbers required to make a solid correlation between the
two, as demostrated by the weak results. Though more experimentation may
occur on the subject of self esteem, this study does share a glimpse into
the mind of the driver.