Narcissism and Aggressive Driving: Is an Inflated View
of the Self a Road Hazard?
1
M ` L,
2
D L. W, G L. F
York University
A total of 210 drivers varying in levels of trait narcissism were presented with 10
scenarios of objectionable driving situations and were asked to make assessments of
intentionality, level of inconsideration, and anger and to indicate the behavioral
responses they would likely make in such situations. It was hypothesized that
responses would reflect attributions made in assessing the behaviors of other
motorists. Our results confirmed the associations among attributions, anger, and
behavioral reactions. Positive correlations were found between attributions and
levels of anger and driver aggression. Individuals high in narcissism were also
found to respond more aggressively toward the frustrating driving behavior of
others, but this relationship varied by gender and anger experience.
Aggressive Driving
In the past decade, road rage, aggressive driving, and anger while driving
have received a great deal of public attention (Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch,
Oetting, & Salvatore, 2000; Hennessy & Wiesenthal, 2002). Public opinion
surveys have indicated that many people believe that aggressive driving
behaviors are increasing (Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 2007), and
related incidents are a growing concern for motorists. One of the more
difficult issues surrounding the study of aggressive driving has been the way
in which to define this behavior operationally. Presently, there is no generally
agreed upon definition of aggressive driving or of the term road rage, which is
used to describe more extreme acts of driving aggression involving some type
of personal assault (Tasca, 2000).
According to Tasca (2000), aggressive drivers are more likely to
speed, tailgate, make unsafe lane changes, run stop signs, honk, flash their
lights, and make hand and facial gestures. Road rage has been defined as an
extreme and very rare form of aggressive driving behavior that involves
“assaultive behavior with the intent of bodily harm and possible homicide”
1
This research was conducted by Michèle Lustman in partial fulfillment of M.A. degree
requirements of York University. D. L. Wiesenthal was supported by an AUTO21 grant. The
authors thank Lisa Fiksenbaum and Mirka Ondrack for their assistance.
2
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David Wiesenthal, Depart-
ment of Psychology, 288 Behavioural Science Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3. E-mail: davidw@yorku.ca
1423
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2010, 40, 6, pp. 1423–1449.
© 2010 Copyright the Authors
Journal compilation © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.