Causal attribution in explanations of near-crash events behind the wheel, and its relationship to comparative judgments

Journal of Safety Research
Blazej Palat, Patricia Delhomme

Abstract

The development of skills essential for avoiding crashes depends, in particular, on how drivers explain the causes of dangerous driving behaviors that resulted in a near crash. Here, we analyze causes attributed to such behaviors by car drivers in a self-report study. We explore the relationships between the dimensions of causal attribution, attribution of responsibility for the near crash, and drivers' comparative judgments. For approximately two months, drivers used logbooks to document the near crashes that occurred during their trips. The causes attributed in those reports to driving behaviors resulting in near crashes were then coded by two judges on the basis of several causal dimensions. Drivers also estimated their own and an average driver's skill levels, and their risk of being involved, as a driver, in a crash. We distinguished main types of causes of the near crashes reported. Drivers had a tendency to more often attribute external causes to their own behaviors resulting in near crashes than to those of others. The probability of attributing a controllable cause increased with overestimation of one's own skills and decreased with underestimation of one's own risk in comparison to other drivers. The probability of at...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1973·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·M D Storms
Jan 1, 1966·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·E Walster
Nov 1, 2006·Psychological Bulletin·Bertram F Malle
May 15, 2007·Traffic Injury Prevention·Dwight A Hennessy, Robert Jakubowski
Nov 26, 2009·Journal of Safety Research·Patricia DelhommeCécile Martha

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