Automobile Driving as Seen by the Actor,the Active Observer,and the Passive Observer1

This research utilizes the actor-observers paradigm (Jones & Nisbett, 1971) to study driving interactions from the actor, active observer, and passive observer perspectives. Videos of interactions in three driving situations were used to elicit personal and situational causal attributions from subjects. For each interaction, three videos were made, corresponding with each of the three perspectives. Results for two of the interactions were in accordance with the Jones and Nisbett hypothesis, while those of the third were not. Of note was that passive observers gave consistently lower attributional ratings, both personal and situational, compared to actors and active observers. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance to driving behavior and education.