International Journal of

Traffic and Transportation Psychology

Volume 4, ISSUE 1 / 2016 – www.ijttp.ro

2. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS, AGGRESSION

IN TRAFFIC AND PERSONALITY TRAITS

MIHAELA CHRAIF, VLAD BURTĂVERDE, ANA MARIA

TRANDAFIRESCU, CORNELIA ELENA TUDOSE
University of Bucharest, Department of Psychology

Abstract
The research investigates the relationship between stress, aggression in traffic and
personality traits. Method: The study participants were a number of 58drivers19 female
and 39 male, aged between 22 and 48 years. Personality traits were analyzed using the
HEXACO questionnaire, which was created by Lee and Ashton in 2004. The questionnaire
is self-evaluative and includes 60 items. Aggressiveness was analyzed with the AVIS
questionnaire (Aggressive driving behavior), which was created in 2003 by Herzberg. The
perceived stress was analyzed using the Perceived Stress Scale self-evaluative
questionnaire (10 items), which was created by Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein (1983).
The questionnaire is self-evaluative and includes 35 items Research results have shown on
the one hand that there is a significant negative correlation between honesty,
agreeableness, conscientiousness and aggression and on the other hand, a significant
positive correlation between emotionality and stress, and also between aggression and
stress. Also, we observed higher scores on the affectivity factor among women participating
in the research.

Keywords: personality , driving aggression, stress

1. INTRODUCTION

The activity of driving is a complex process that involves the expression of

individual factors that are influenced by contextual and environmental stimuli, the
driver being the main component. For this reason, the present research aims to
investigate how personality traits correlate with aggression and stress. This
research topic was choosen in order observe how these three variables influence the
quality of driving. Cristea (2003) highlite that The term "personality" has entered
the communication circuit from ancient times and was known in classical Latin as
"persona". Hence, the author underline that the "persona" encompass the internal
psycho-moral and external psychophysical traits (Cristea, 2013). Talking about the
functional levels of personality: intra-psychic, interpersonal and transpersonal.
Balles (1971), took first contact with the world of psycholgy, the interpersonal
concept of personality and a method of diagnosing of interpersonal behavior. At
the second level was the subject of study of transpersonal psychological orientation
as an outgrowth of humanistic psychology.
The lexical six factors model (Ashton, 2004) includes the following factors:
honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
openness to experience. People who score high on the scale of honesty (Honesty-
Humility) avoid to manipulate others for their own interests, do not feel tempted to
break the rules, they are not interested in material things and do not value social
status. Instead, people who score low on this scale will flatter others to get what
they want, are tempted to break the rules for their own use and they are motivated
by material things (Ashton, 2004).
People who score high on the scale of emotionality fear of risky situations,
experiencing anxiety due to stress everyday, feel the need for emotional support
from others are empathetic and attache quickly to people. Instead, people who earn
low scores on this scale are not deterred by the prospect of physical danger, do not
worry slightly, do not feel the need to share their feelings with others and are
posted emotional (Ashton, 2004).
The concept of aggressiveness was and continues to be extensively studied in
many branches of psychology such as transportaion psychology, personality
psychology, clinical psychology, etc. Since many tragedies and disasters were said
to be caused by aggressiveness, it is required to distinguish between aggression and
violence and the implications they have on both individuals and on the social
environment in which they develop. (Scripcaru, 2012).
Bushman and Anderson (2001) as cited Chraif (2013) define aggression as an
undesirable behavior with the intent to harm the individual and cause damage.
Ellison-Potter (Ellison-Potter, 2001) speaks of his aggressiveness model which is
based on two factors that increase the likelihood of being aggressive in traffic.
Shinar (1998) as cited in (Havarneanu, 2013) talks about the theory of "frustration -
aggression" thus making the connection between negative emotions and
aggression.
Hans Selye (1936) as cited in (Stoica, 2012) introduced the concept of stress
According to this theory, developed by Lazarus (1984) as cited in Stoica (2007),
stress occurs not only in relation to itself, but also in relation to individual -
environment.
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 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

2.1. Research objectives

The objective of this research is to determine if there is a significant

correlation between stress, aggression in traffic and personality traits among
drivers. In this research it was intended to identify how stress and aggression is
manifested by personality traits exhibited by each driver. Thus, through a detailed
analysis we will try to determine stress levels, the aggressiveness and the
personality traits of each individual.

2.2. Hypotheses

1. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality traits and

stress.
1.1. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Honesty-Humility and stress.
1.2 There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Emotionality and stress.
1.3. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Extraversion and stress.
1.4. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Constiousness and stress.
1.5. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Openness and stress.

2. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality traits and

aggression.
2.1. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Honesty-Humility and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.2. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait,
Honesty-Humility and Anger.

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 2.3. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Honesty-Humility and Enjoyment of violence.
2.4. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Emotionality and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.5. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Emotionality and Anger.
2.6. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Emotionality and Enjoyment of violence.
2.7. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Extraversion and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.8. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Extraversion and Anger.
2.9. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Extraversion and Enjoyment of violence.
între trăsătură de personalitate Conscientiousness şi Anger.
2.10. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Agreeableness and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.11. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Agreeableness and Anger.
2.12. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Agreeableness and Enjoyment of violence.
2.13. There is a statistically significant correlation between the personality
trait of Conscientiousness and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.14. There is a statistically significant correlation between the personality
trait of Conscientiousness and Anger.
2.15. There is a statistically significant correlation between the personality
trait of Conscientiousness and Enjoyment of violence.
2.16. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Openess and Instrumental aggression and acting out.
2.17. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Openess and Anger.
2.18. There is a statistically significant correlation between personality trait
Openess and Enjoyment of violence.

3. There is a statistically significant correlation between aggression and stress.

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 3.1. There is a statistically significant correlation between Instrumental
aggression and acting out and stress.
3.2 There is a statistically significant correlation between Anger and stress.
3.3. There is a statistically significant correlation between the Enjoyment of
violence and stress.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1. Participants

This research included 58 participants, 19 female and 39 male, aged between

22 and 48 years. Anumber of 34 drivers have driving license for more than 5 years,
15 drivers had a driving license for 5 to10 years and 9 drivers had a driving license
for more than 10 years.

3.2. Instruments

Personality traits were analyzed using the HEXACO questionnaire, which

was created by Lee and Ashton in 2004. The questionnaire is self-evaluative and
includes 60 items that are rated on a Likert scale from 1 (not my thing at all) to 5 (it
almost always characterizes me). The questionnaire captures the following
personality traits: Honesty-Humility (Sincerity, Fairness, Greed-avoidance,
Modesty), Emotionality (Fearfulness, Anxiety, Dependence, Sentimentality),
Extraversion (Social Self Esteem, Social Boldness, Sociability, Liveliness),
Agreeableness (Forgiveness, Gentleness, Flexibility, Patience), Conscientiousness
(Organization, Diligence, Perfecţionism, Prudence), Openness to experience
(Aesthetic appreciation, Inquisitiveness, Creativity, Unconventionality). (Ashton
M. , 2013)
Aggressiveness was analyzed with the AVIS questionnaire (Aggressive
driving behavior), which was created in 2003 by Hezberg. The questionnaire is
self-evaluative and includes 35 items that are rated on a Likert scale from 1 (very
rarely) to 8 (very often). The questionnaire aims to capture: Aggression and acting
out, Anger, Enjoyment of violence.

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 Stress was analyzed using the Perceived Stress Scale self-evaluative
questionnaire, which was created by Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein (1983).
The scale used for this research includes 10 items that are rated on a Likert scale
from 0 (never) to 4 (very often).

3.3. Procedure

The questionnaires were only applied online on subjects who hold driving
licenses. The average duration of completing the questionnaires was 20 minute.

4. RESULTS

The results were interpreted using SPSS 16 and Microsoft Excel.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
H 58 13.00 49.00 30.7241 6.40940
E 58 15.00 42.00 28.5517 6.45952
X 58 25.00 49.00 36.5517 5.31853
A 58 16.00 41.00 29.1552 5.13605
C 58 22.00 49.00 35.6552 5.81152
O 58 21.00 47.00 34.3103 6.11643
Instrumental aggression and 58 14.00 92.00 45.1552 20.83082
acting out
Anger 58 7.00 56.00 27.7931 11.65853
Enjoyment of violence 58 5.00 26.00 11.3621 6.41188
Stress 58 19.00 47.00 35.1897 6.00134
Valid N (listwise) 58

In Table 1, descriptive statistics for tests HEXACO, AVIS and Perceived

Stress Scale can be seen. Thus it can be seen that Honesty-Humility has (M =
30.72, SD = 6.40), Emotionality (M = 28.55, SD = 6.45), Extraversion (M = 36.55,
SD = 5.31), Agreeableness (M = 29.15, SD = 5.13), Conscientiousness (M = 35.65,
SD = 5.81), Openness to experience (M = 34.31, SD = 6.11), instrumental
aggression and acting out (M = 45.15, SD = 20.83), Anger (M = 27.79, SD = 11.65
) Enjoyment of violence (M = 11.36, SD = 6.41), stress (M = 35.18, SD = 6).

Table 2. Statistica descriptiva pe rank

Gender N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
H 1,00 18 28.19 507.50
2,00 40 30.09 1203.50
Total 58
E 1,00 18 44.08 793.50
2,00 40 22.94 917.50
Total 58
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 X 1,00 18 31.81 572.50
2,00 40 28.46 1138.50
Total 58
A 1,00 18 27.75 499.50
2,00 40 30.29 1211.50
Total 58
C 1,00 18 31.50 567.00
2,00 40 28.60 1144.00
Total 58
O 1,00 18 32.44 584.00
2,00 40 28.18 1127.00
Total 58
Stress 1,00 18 25.44 458.00
2,00 40 31.33 1253.00
Total 58
Instrumental aggression and acting out 1,00 18 23.92 430.50
2,00 40 32.01 1280.50
Total 58
Anger 1,00 18 28,00 504.00
2,00 40 30,18 1207.00
Total 58
Enjoyment of violence 1,00 18 26,31 473.50
2,00 40 30,94 1237.50
Total 58

Table 3 The Maan-Whitney U statistical test

Instrumental
aggression and Enjoyment of
H E X A C O Stress acting out Anger violence
Mann- 336.500 97.500 318.500 328.500 324.000 307.000 287.000 259.500 333.000 302.500
Whitney U
Wilcoxon W 507.500917.5001138.500499.5001144.0001127.000458.000 430.500 504.000 473.500
Z -.396 -4.421 -.701 -.531 -.607 -.893 -1.229 -1.690 -.454 -.973
Asymp. Sig. .692 .000 .483 .595 .544 .372 .219 .091 .650 .331
(2-tailed)

a. Grouping Variable: Sex

In Table 3, where we applied the non-parametric Mann Whitney U test it is

observed that there are significant differences by gender for HEXACO variable
Emotionality. Thus, we can say that women have obtained significantly higher
scores on this factor p than men (U = 97.5, Z = -4.42, M1 = 44, M2 = 22.9, p
<.001). For other variables, index statistics are not significant, the error is greater
than the threshold of 0.5% imposed in literature.

Table 4 Correlation matrix between the variables: personality traits, stress, instrumental aggression, acting out
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
H 1
E -.016 1
X -.180 - 1
.259

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 *
A .416* .072 - 1
* .279
*
C .029 -.245 .250 -.120 1
O -.150 -.026 .333 -.145 .256 1
*
Stress .096 .307 .264 .129 .209 .042 1
* *
Instrumental - -.162 .044 .033 - - -.019 1
aggression and .276* .290 .068
acting out *
Anger - .001 .143 - -.159 .047 - .534* 1
.460* .262 .336* *
* * *
Enjoyment of - -.095 -.015 -.066 -.251 - -.077 .684* .581* 1
violence .271* .177 * *
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
In Table 4, where the parametric Pearson correlation was applied, the
relations between HEXACO, Perceived Stress Scale and Avis and the relationship
between the three can be observerd. Thus, it can be seen that there is a significant
correlation between Honesty-Humility, Instrumental aggression and acting out (r =
-.27, p <.01), Anger (r = -.46, p <.05) and Enjoyment of violence (r = -.27, p <.01);
Extraversion and stress (r = .30, p <.01); Anger and Agreeableness (r = -.26, p
<.01); Conscientiousness, Instrumental aggression and acting out (r = -.29, p <.01);
Stress and Anger (r = .33, p <.05). Hypothesis 1.2 stating that there is a statistically
significant correlation between personality trait Emotionality and stress is confirm
as there is a statistically significantly positive relationship between the two.
Hypothesis 2.1 stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between
personality trait Honesty-Humility and Instrumental aggression and acting out are
confirmed, since a statistically significant negative relationship between the two.
Hypothesis 2.2. stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between
personality trait, Honesty- Humility and Anger is confirmed as there is a
statistically significantly negative relationship between the two variables.
Hypothesis 2.3 stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between
personality trait Honesty-Humility and Enjoyment of violence is confirmed as there
is a statistically significantly negative relationship between the two variables.
Hypothesis 2.11 stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between
personality trait Agreeableness and Anger is confirmed as there is a statistically
significantly negative relationship between the two variables. Hypothesis 2.13
stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between the personality
trait Conscientiousness and Instrumental aggression and acting out is confirmed as

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there is a statistically significantly negative relationship between the two.
Hypothesis 3.2. stating that there is a statistically significant correlation between
Anger and stress is confirmed as there is a statistically significantly positive
relationship between the two. The remaining hypotheses are not confirmed because
there was no statistically significant relationship between them.

5. DISUCSSION

The purpose of this research was reached, meaning that the tested personality
traits, stress and aggression that drivers are characterized by. Thus, by testing with
the HEXACO questionnaires (Lee, Ashton, 2004), Avis (Hezberg, 2003) and
Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, Mermelstein, 1983) it was possible to
correlate results, and differentiating media according to subjects’ sex. The
HEXACO offered us a comprehensive view on the six factors of personality
(honesty, affection, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness) and
how they correlated (positively / negatively) or did not correlate with the scales of
aggression (AVIS) and stress (Perceived stress Scale). Personality factors that have
negatively correlated with aggression are: honesty, agreeableness and
conscientiousness. Individuals who score high on the conscientiousness factor are
characterized by meticulous and perfectionist behaviors. People who scored high
on the honesty factor are not attracted by the prospect of violating rules, and people
with high scores on the agreeableness factor control their temper easily. Thus, these
two categories have low propensity to be aggressive in traffic.
The personality factor that correlated positively with stress is affectivity.
People who score high on the scale of emotionality frequently experience anxiety
states, the stress of everyday life. Thus, this category of persons, by default, has a
significant positive correlation in relation to stress. The research also showed a
positive correlation between stress and aggression. Thus, a person stressed in
everyday life tends to be more aggressive in traffic. The correlation between
personality factors and aggression in traffic has been researched in the study "The
Link Between personality, aggressive driving and risky driving outcomes - testing
a theoretical model" (Chraif, 2015), the study results showing that personality
factors are a predictor for aggressive driving, particularly agreeableness (Big Five).
Thus, it can be concluded that people who score low on the Agreeableness factor
will be more aggressive in traffic. In this context it is important to mention that

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there are gender differences statistically significant for emotionality. Thus, it is
shown that women hae higher scores on the variables: fear, anxiety, addiction and
sentimentality. A limit of this study is the exclusive application of self-report
instrument. Also the number of participants is not significant at a national level,
which prevents us to draw general conclusions about the relationship.

REFERENCES

Cristea, D. (2013). Tratat de psihologie sociala. Bucuresti: Din condei.

Hedges, P. (2007). Personalitate si temperament. Bucuresti: Humanitas.
Dumitru, I. (2001). Personalitate: atitudini şi valori: aspecte psihoindividuale şi
psihosociale. Timisoara: Editura de vest.
Ashton, M. L. (2004). Psychometric properties of the HEXACO personality inventory.
Multivariate Behavioral Research. 39, pp. 329-358.
Scripcaru, C. S. (2012). Agresivitate si boala mintala. Iasi: Sedcom Libris.
Chraif, M. A. (2013). Psihologia in transporturi. Bucuresti: Universitara.
Ellison-Potter, P. (2001). The Effect of Trait Driving Anger, Anonymity and Aggressive
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Havarneanu, G. (2013). Psihologia transporturilor. Bucuresti: Polirom.
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REZUMAT
Cercetarea investighează relaţia dintre stres, agresivitate în trafic şi trăsăturile de
personalitate. Studiul a avut un număr 58 de conducători auto. Rezultatele cercetării au
arătat pe de-o parte, că există o corelaţie negativ semnificativă între onestitate,
agreabilitate şi conştiinciozitate cu agresivitatea şi pe de altă parte, o corelaţie pozitiv
semnificativă între afectivitate şi stres, dar şi între agresivitate şi stres. Deasemenea, s-au
observat scoruri mai ridicate pe factorul afectivitate în rândul femeilor participante la
cercetare.

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