Does a threat appeal moderate reckless driving? A terror management theory perspective

Orit Taubman Ben-Ari; Victor Florian; Mario Mikulincer

doi:10.1016/s0001-4575(99)00042-1

Does a threat appeal moderate reckless driving? A terror management theory perspective

Orit Taubman Ben-Ari, Victor Florian, Mario Mikulincer

School of Social Work

Bar-Ilan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

A series of two studies examined the effects of threat appeals on reckless driving from a terror management theory perspective. In both studies, all the participants (N = 109) reported on the relevance of driving to their self-esteem, and, then, half of them were exposed to a road trauma film and the remaining to a neutral film. In Study 1, the dependent variable was the self-report of intentions to drive recklessly in hypothetical scenarios. In Study 2, the dependent variable was actual behavior (driving speed) in a driving simulator. Findings indicated that a road trauma film led to less reported intentions of reckless driving, but to higher driving speed than a neutral film. These effects were only found among participants who perceived driving as relevant to their self-esteem. The discussion emphasized the self-enhancing mechanisms proposed by the terror management theory.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Accident Analysis and Prevention
Volume	32
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/s0001-4575(99)00042-1
State	Published - Jan 2000

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was conducted as a part of the Doctoral Dissertation carried out at the Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, by Orit Taubman Ben-Ari, under the supervision of Victor Florian, and Mario Mikulincer. This research was supported by grants from the Israel Foundation Trustees and the ‘The World belongs to the careful’ association.

Funding

This research was conducted as a part of the Doctoral Dissertation carried out at the Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, by Orit Taubman Ben-Ari, under the supervision of Victor Florian, and Mario Mikulincer. This research was supported by grants from the Israel Foundation Trustees and the ‘The World belongs to the careful’ association.

Funders	Funder number
Israel Foundation Trustees

Keywords

Driving simulator
Driving speed
Road trauma film
Self esteem
Terror management theory

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/s0001-4575(99)00042-1

Cite this

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title = "Does a threat appeal moderate reckless driving? A terror management theory perspective",

abstract = "A series of two studies examined the effects of threat appeals on reckless driving from a terror management theory perspective. In both studies, all the participants (N = 109) reported on the relevance of driving to their self-esteem, and, then, half of them were exposed to a road trauma film and the remaining to a neutral film. In Study 1, the dependent variable was the self-report of intentions to drive recklessly in hypothetical scenarios. In Study 2, the dependent variable was actual behavior (driving speed) in a driving simulator. Findings indicated that a road trauma film led to less reported intentions of reckless driving, but to higher driving speed than a neutral film. These effects were only found among participants who perceived driving as relevant to their self-esteem. The discussion emphasized the self-enhancing mechanisms proposed by the terror management theory.",

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Does a threat appeal moderate reckless driving? A terror management theory perspective

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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