THE INFLUENCE AND INTERACTION OF SIMULATED EXPERIENCES AND ANXIETY ON SAFETY ATTITUDES IN DRIVER EDUCATION

THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN IN ORDER TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE INFLUENCE AND INTERACTION OF SIMULATED EXPERIENCES AND ANXIETY ON SAFETY ATTITUDES IN DRIVER EDUCATION: (1) ARE THERE SYSTEMATIC EFFECTS ON SAFETY ATTITUDES WHICH RELATE TO DRIVER EDUCATION EXPERIENCES? (2) ARE THERE SYSTEMATIC EFFECTS ON SAFETY ATTITUDES DUE TO SIMULATION ALONE (IRRESPECTIVE OF ANXIETY)? (3) ARE THERE SYSTEMATIC EFFECTS ON SAFETY ATTITUDES DUE TO ANXIETY ALONE (IRRESPECTIVE OF SIMULATION)? AND (4) ARE THERE SYSTEMATIC EFFECTS ON SAFETY ATTITUDES DUE NEITHER TO SIMULATION ALONE, NOR ANXIETY ALONE, BUT ATTRIBUTABLE TO ONLY THE COMBINATION OF PARTICULAR ANXIETY LEVELS, WITH SIMULATION OR NON-SIMULATION? TWO GROUPS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM SIMILAR SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS WERE ENROLLED FOR A COURSE IN DRIVER EDUCATION IN SIMILAR SUBURBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THE FIRST GROUP RECEIVED SIMULATED EXPERIENCES IN DRIVING AS PART OF THE COURSE WORK, IN ADDITION TO LECTURES AND BEHIND-THE-WHEEL PRACTICE IN THE DRIVER EDUCATION CAR. THE SECOND GROUP RECEIVED THE SAME TYPE OF INSTRUCTION WITHOUT THE SIMULATED DRIVING EXPERIENCE. THE LENGTH OF INSTRUCTION TIME FOR EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS IN EACH GROUP WAS IDENTICAL. BOTH GROUPS OF EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS RECEIVED A PRE-COURSE TEST FOR SAFETY ATTITUDES IN DRIVING. THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS WERE REACHED: (1) THE EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY ATTITUDES AS A RESULT OF DRIVER EDUCATION, (2) THE EVIDENCE SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THE ANSWER TO QUESTION 2 IS NEGATIVE, (3) THE EVIDENCE SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THERE IS A TREND FOR EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS WITH LOW ANXIETY TO IMPROVE MORE IN SAFETY ATTITUDE THAN THOSE WITH MIDDLE OR HIGH ANXIETY BUT THAT DIFFERENCE IS NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, AND (4) THE EVIDENCE SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THERE WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN SAFETY ATTITUDES DUE TO THE INTERACTION OF SIMULATION AND ANXIETY LEVELS. /AUTHOR/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/04194209
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 30, No 1
• Corporate Authors:

  Xerox University Micorfilms

  300 North Zeeb Road
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48106
• Authors:
  • Thomas, F E
• Publication Date: 1969-7

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Dissertation Abstracts International: Section A, Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Publisher: ProQuest Information & Learning
  • ISSN: 0419-4209

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Driver training; Drivers; Driving simulators; High schools; Human characteristics; Safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220668
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 16 1971 12:00AM