Predictors of perceived road collision/incident risk among horse users: A survey study from Norway

Although horse users in traffic are a vulnerable road user group, traffic safety problems among them are scantly examined by previous research. The main aim of the present study was to examine the role of some demographic variables, traffic safety attitudes, and level of knowledge about rules and regulations applying to horse use in traffic for predicting perceived road collision/incident risk in a sample of horse users in Norway. An online survey was conducted to collect data from a total of 1733 horse users including horse riders and drivers of horse-drawn sulky, wagon or sled. The respondents accessed the survey via a link put to the website of the Norwegian Horse Centre, which is in contact with many different horse user environments in Norway. The majority of the respondents were female and between the ages of 18–30. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the predictors of the perceived collision/incident risk involving other motor vehicles. Results showed that traffic safety attitudes among horse users were the strongest predictor of the perceived collision/incident risk. In particular, horse users reported a negative attitude towards the other road users (e.g. drivers) indicating that they perceive the other road users’ actions and approaches as the biggest source of risk in road traffic. The level of knowledge about the rules and regulations applying to horse use, especially in walking and cycling lane, was relatively low among the respondents. However, knowledge about rules and regulations did not appear as a strong predictor of the perceived collision/incident risk. Results indicate the need to increase road users, especially drivers’, awareness about the problems and needs of horse users in traffic.     

Relations between a laboratory-based sustained attention task and traffic violations in an Iranian sample of drivers

The role of cognitive abilities regarding driver behavior is crucially important in the occurrence of traffic violations and preventing tragic motor vehicle collisions. Sustained attention is one cognitive ability that may contribute to safe driving behavior. The present study investigated the relation between sustained attention and traffic violations. One hundred and one Iranian male drivers (age: M = 37.17, SD = 8.37) with at least 2 years driving experience voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were categorized into two groups based on the number of driving rule violations they committed over the last 2 years (n = 48 clean record, n = 53 violators). Sustained attention was measured by performance on the Conjunctive Continuous Performance Task (CCPT). Four CCPT performance measures were computed: (1) Mean reaction time for correct responses (M-RT); (2) standard deviation of reaction times for correct responses (SD-RT); (3) percent of omission errors (failure to respond to target stimulus); (4) percent of commission errors (identification of a non-target stimulus as target). Results showed after controlling for age and education, there was a significant group difference on M-RT, indicating that individuals with no traffic violations had faster reaction times as compared to those who had 1 or more traffic violations. No effect of group on any of the other outcomes was present after correcting for alpha inflation. When assessing the effect of age and education, education was significantly related to average reaction time and percent of omission errors. No significant effect of age was apparent. Findings suggest cognitive function, specifically sustained attention measured with a laboratory-based measure, may be associated with safe driving behavior.     

道路交通标志中对称结构效应的眼动研究

本研究考察了道路交通标志中路名信息对称结构效应的眼动模式。实验采用眼动跟踪技术和视觉搜索范式,共有16名被试参加。实验结果表明：（1）在对称结构路名信息的视觉搜索中,被试的反应正确率明显优于非对称结构条件下的正确率;（2）对称结构条件下,被试的注视点和回扫次数明显较少,凝视时间明显较短;（3）在以道路交通标志为视觉搜索材料时,搜索区有无路名目标对视觉搜索绩效没有影响。可以认为：在道路交通标志中存在对称结构效应;眼动模式的差异是引起对称结构效应的认知机制。     

Managing boundaries under pressure: A qualitative study of therapists’ experiences of sexual attraction in therapy

Aim: To identify therapists’ views on sexual boundaries and the strategies they employ to manage them in therapeutic practice. Method: In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of 13 accredited, experienced practitioners of psychotherapy or counselling. A grounded theory approach, informed by principles from Free Association Narrative methodology, was employed, in which team members used debriefing sessions for extending depth of understanding of the interviews. Findings: There is consensus about boundaries at the extremes, but variability about fantasy, flirtation and touch. A core process was generated from accounts of successful management of sexual attraction. We identified four problematic ways of reacting to boundary pressure, each with potential to harm clients and therapy. Discussion: A participant‐observer stance was conceptualised as essential for managing threats to boundaries, consistent with the empathic stance. Minor boundary crossings were viewed by interviewees as both potential precursors of more serious transgressions, and as opportunities for understanding the client's difficulties. Implications for practice: These span training, accrediting organisations, supervision and therapy practice.     

Driving and riding avoidance following motor vehicle crashes in a non-clinical sample: psychometric properties of a new measure

Three studies were conducted to assess the reliability and validity of a measure that we developed using a non-clinical sample of university undergraduates, the Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale (DRAS). Study 1 indicated that the scale was internally consistent (α=0.92) and that a four-factor model (general avoidance, avoidance of traffic and busy roads, avoidance of weather or darkness, and riding avoidance) provided the best fit to the data in a sample of 386 crash survivors. This study also revealed that survivors who received medical treatment for their crash-related injuries reported significantly greater avoidance than people who were uninjured or injured and not medically treated. Study 2 revealed that the DRAS possessed acceptable test-retest reliability (r=0.83) over a 4-week interval in a sample of 67 crash survivors. Using a sample of 118 survivors, study 3 examined the instrument’s convergent and divergent validity through correlations with the Accident Fear Questionnaire (AFQ), the Mobility Inventory (MI), the Fear Survey Schedule-II (FSS-II), and the Fear Questionnaire (FQ). The strongest relationships were observed between the DRAS and the AFQ and with a driving subscale created from the MI items. The DRAS exhibited significantly weaker relationships with the FQ subscales that assessed other kinds of phobic avoidance.     

The effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on teachers' attention, episodic and semantic memory

The aim of the present experiment was to examine the effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on attention, episodic and semantic memory, and also to examine whether the noise effects were age-dependent. A total of 96 male and female teachers in the age range of 35-45 and 55-65 years were randomly assigned to a silent or the two noise conditions. Noise effects found in episodic memory were limited to a meaningful text, where cued recall contrary to expectations was equally impaired by the two types of noise. However, meaningful irrelevant speech also deteriorated recognition of the text, whereas road traffic noise caused no decrement. Retrieval from two word fluency tests in semantic memory showed strong effects of noise exposure, one affected by meaningful irrelevant speech and the other by road traffic noise. The results implied that both acoustic variation and the semantic interference could be of importance for noise impairments. The expected age-dependent noise effects did not show up.     

Exploring the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality,social factors and self-reported delinquency

The ‘Big Five’ is one of the predominant models of personality structure but relatively little research has focussed on how the five factors might be related to self reported offending separately for males and females. This is problematic for understanding the relationship between personality and offending as females and males typically have different personality profiles and differ considerably in self-reported offending. In this research 720 adolescents (376 males and 344 females) completed a Big Five personality measure along with measures of self-reported offending, socioeconomic status and family structure. The results suggested that low agreeableness and low conscientiousness were independently related to the prevalence of self-reported offending for males and that low agreeableness was independently related to frequent male offending. Low conscientiousness was independently related to female offending, but so too were interactions between disrupted family and extraversion and disrupted family and openness. The interaction between extraversion and a disrupted family was also independently related to frequent female offending. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Beginning adult L2 learners' sensitivity to morphosyntactic violations: A self-paced reading study

This study investigated beginning adult second language (L2) learners' sensitivity to L2 morphosyntactic violations as a function of cross-language similarity. Online sensitivity was indexed by self-paced reading times at: (1) the critical word at which the violation could first be detected, (2) the post-critical word, and (3) the sentence-final word. In conditions in which morphosyntactic marking systems were similar or different in L1 and L2, reading times on the critical word were slower when it cued a violation than when it did not; however, this sensitivity was not apparent in a construction unique to L2. Slower reading times to violations spilled over onto the post-critical word. Cross-language similarity also influenced sentence-final word reading times. Despite this online sensitivity, post-sentence grammaticality judgements were generally poor. However, these judgements were influenced by morphosyntactic markings on words after the critical word, suggesting that learners can make use of this information.     

Stereotypes and stereotyping: What's the brain got to do with it?

Influential social-psychological models suggest that perceivers frequently use information-processing strategies that result in the stereotype-based construal and treatment of other people. To elucidate in greater detail when, why, and how social encounters elicit stereotyping, researchers have begun to incorporate neuroscientific tools into their repertoire of investigative methods. The current article reviews these studies and considers their significance in light of existing theories of person perception, knowledge representation, and impression formation. Finally, using the concrete example of stereotyping, benefits and pitfalls of adopting a social neuroscience approach are discussed.     

The Romanian version of the multidimensional driving style inventory: Psychometric properties and cultural specificities

The multidimensional driving style inventory (MDSI), assessing four broad dimensions of driving styles, was originally built in Israel. In line with other previous adaptations of this instrument in different cultural contexts (such as Argentina), our research aimed to develop a valid and reliable Romanian version of the MDSI and to evaluate its external and construct validity. We conducted two studies aimed at this objective. Study 1 (n = 1237) first tested the factorial adequacy of the previous MDSI versions in our Romanian sample. Then, the culture-specific version of the MDSI that emerged from the factor analysis was examined in terms of its structure, internal consistency, item proprieties, and associations to socio-demographic variables and self-reported traffic crashes and offenses. Study 2 (n = 835) examined the associations between the driving styles assessed by this newly developed measure and several relevant personality traits: sensation seeking (both general and in traffic), desire for control, driving anger, normlessness, dutifulness and frustration discomfort. The results of the two studies support the validity and reliability of this culture-specific version of the MDSI. In comparison to the previous versions, the Romanian MDSI version addresses a supplementary driving style, concerning the violation of rules perceived as irrational in the respective situation. The reasons for the emergence of this distinct driving style in the Romanian driving context, as well as its relationships to the high traffic crashes rate in this country are discussed.