Describe the psychological aspects of driving

Psychologists study what people do in different social situations and then develop explanations for their actions and reactions. In this sense we all have to be like psychologists, even if one never took a psychology degree program, since our ability to carry out the daily tasks in our lives depends on our understanding of ourselves and others. For example, suppose you agreed to meet a friend for lunch in a designated restaurant. You have been waiting for half an hour at the table and your friend has not shown up. You have to make a decision. You see several options. Eat lunch by yourself and go back to work. Use the phone and try to contact the person. Leave and go look for your friend. Continue to wait and not order lunch.

As you review these options, you also have various reactions. Perhaps you are irritated, or worried. Thoughts occur that possibly the person had an accident. Or maybe you find yourself criticizing your friend and recalling a past pattern of unreliability. You might question this person's character. Finally your friend shows up. You are relieved, but still peeved.

Decisions, options, reactions, and explanations constantly go on in our mind moment by moment as we cope with life's changing events. Psychologists call this activity making attributions. Let's apply this idea to traffic psychology. While we drive, we constantly have to figure out what's going on, what other drivers are doing. Some events are easy to recognize because they are accompanied by official signs like turn signals. Other types of communication signals may not be official, but they are traditional, like motorists waving to you after you made an opening in your lane to let them in.