Aggressive Driving and Road Rage: A Driving Simulation Experiment.
NCT ID: NCT03430973
Last Updated: 2025-12-19
Study Results
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Basic Information
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TERMINATED
NA
85 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2015-10-20
2025-12-01
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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The proposed research will test the effects of seven situational risk factors: (1) racing video games (Experiment 2), (2) racial bumper stickers (i.e., "Black Lives Matter" bumper stickers for white motorists vs. "All Lives Matter" bumper stickers for black motorists; Experiment 3), (3) political bumper stickers (i.e., "Donald Trump for President 2016" for Democrat motorists vs. "Hillary Clinton for President 2016" for Republican motorists; Experiment 4), (4) alcohol-related cues (i.e., a case of beer vs. water on the passenger seat; Experiment 5), (5) music with violent lyrics (Experiment 6), (6) music with an upbeat tempo (Experiment 6), and (7) roadside trash (Experiment 7). The proposed research will also test the effects of five situational protective factors: (1) racial bumper stickers (i.e., "Black Lives Matter" for black motorists vs. "All Lives Matter" for white motorists; Experiment 3), (2) political bumper stickers (i.e., "Donald Trump for President 2016" for Republican motorists vs. "Hillary Clinton for President 2016" for Democrat motorists; Experiment 4), (3) music with prosocial lyrics (Experiment 6), (4) music with a calm tempo (Experiment 6), and (5) roadside vegetation (Experiment 7).
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
FACTORIAL
BASIC_SCIENCE
NONE
Study Groups
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Experiment 1
The purpose of Experiment 1 is to develop a standardized measure of aggressive driving for driver simulation experiments. After giving their consent, participants (N=200) will complete several personal variables (i.e., gender, age, driving experience, driving frequency, trait anger, self-reported aggressive and prosocial driving). Next, participants will watch several short videos of aggressive driving (e.g., speeding, tailgating, driving on shoulder), and road rage (e.g., hitting another vehicle or pedestrian). Participants will indicate whether the driver's behavior was aggressive (yes, no), and will rate how aggressive it was on an 11-point scale (0=not at all aggressive to 10=extremely aggressive). A debriefing will follow.
Videos
Videos depicting various aggressive driving and road rage behaviors.
Experiment 2
Experiment 2 tests whether participants actually drive more aggressively after a playing a violent or nonviolent racing video game. After giving their consent, participants (N=60, n=30 each group) will complete the same personal variables as in Experiment 1, and will report the video games they play. Next, participants will be randomly assigned to play one of two types of video games for 20 minutes: (1) violent racing video game, (2) nonviolent racing game, or (3) a neutral game. After participants complete the driving scenario, participants will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals. A debriefing will follow.
Video game
Participants will play a racing or neutral video game before driving in the simulator.
Experiment 3
Experiment 3 tests the effects of racial bumper stickers on black and white participants. After giving their consent, participants (N=120; n=60 black, n=60 white) will complete the personal variables (see Experiment 1), the race IAT, and report their political party. Some cars in the driving scenario will contain bumper stickers. Experiment 3 contains four conditions: (1) white participants / "All Lives Matter" stickers, (2) black participants / "All Lives Matter" stickers, (3) white participants / "Black Lives Matter" stickers, (4) black participants / "Black Lives Matter" stickers. After participants complete the driving scenario, they will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals, and will report their attitudes toward the #BLM and #ALM movements. A debriefing will follow.
Bumper stickers
Bumper stickers hypothesized to increase or decrease aggressive driving.
Experiment 4
Experiment 4 tests the effects of political bumper stickers on aggressive driving in Republicans versus Democrats. After giving their consent, participants (N=120; n=60 Republicans, n=60 Democrats) will complete the personal variables (see Experiment 1). Some cars in the driving scenario will contain bumper stickers. Experiment 4 has four conditions: (1) Republicans / "Donald Trump for President 2016" stickers, (2) Republicans / "Hillary Clinton for President 2016" stickers, (3) Democrats / "Donald Trump for President 2016" stickers, (4) Democrats / "Hillary Clinton for President 2016" stickers. After participants complete the driving scenario, they will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals, and will report their attitudes toward Trump and Clinton. A debriefing will follow.
Bumper stickers
Bumper stickers hypothesized to increase or decrease aggressive driving.
Experiment 5
Experiment 5 tests whether alcohol-related cues can increase aggressive driving. After giving their consent, participants (N=40) will complete the personal variables (see Experiment 1). Next, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) 12-pack of beer on passenger seat, or (2) 12-pack of sparkling water on passenger seat. Participants will be told that the object on the seat is part of a different experiment that the other experimenter forgot to clean up, which they should ignore it. After participants complete the driving scenario, they will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals, and will be debriefed.
Alcohol-related cues
Case of beer or water on passenger seat.
Experiment 6
Experiment 6 will test the effects of music with aggressive versus prosocial lyrics on aggressive driving. The tempo of the music will also be manipulated because it might influence arousal levels. After giving their consent, participants (N=150, n=30 per group) will complete the personal variables (see Experiment 1). Music will be played over the car's sound system. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of five conditions: (1) violent lyrics / upbeat tempo, (2) violent lyrics / calm tempo, (3) prosocial lyrics / upbeat tempo, (4) prosocial lyrics / calm tempo, or (5) no music control. After participants complete the driving scenario, they will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals, and will be debriefed.
Music
Lyrics and tempo of music will be manipulated to increase or decrease aggressive driving.
Experiment 7
Experiment 7 tests whether roadside vegetation can reduce aggression in frustrated drivers. After giving their consent, participants (N=90, n=30 per group) will complete the personality variables (see Experiment 1). Next, they will complete the Enjoyment of Nature Scale (Cheng \& Moore, 2012), which contains 7 items (e.g., "I like to see wild flowers in nature" and "Being in the natural environment makes me feel peaceful"; 1=strongly disagree to 5= strongly disagree; Cronbach =.87). Next, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three driving scenarios: (1) roadside vegetation, (2) trash, or (3) control (no roadside vegetation / no trash). After participants complete the driving scenario, they will complete measures of state and hostile appraisals, and will be debriefed.
Roadside vegetation
The roadside will contain trash to increase aggressive driving, or vegetation to decrease aggressive driving. There is also a control group.
Interventions
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Videos
Videos depicting various aggressive driving and road rage behaviors.
Bumper stickers
Bumper stickers hypothesized to increase or decrease aggressive driving.
Alcohol-related cues
Case of beer or water on passenger seat.
Music
Lyrics and tempo of music will be manipulated to increase or decrease aggressive driving.
Roadside vegetation
The roadside will contain trash to increase aggressive driving, or vegetation to decrease aggressive driving. There is also a control group.
Video game
Participants will play a racing or neutral video game before driving in the simulator.
Other Intervention Names
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Participants' ages will vary depending on the experiment. 18 and older for Experiment 1; 18-21 for Experiments 2-4 and 6-7; 21+ for Experiment 5
* All participants must have a current driver license.
Exclusion Criteria
18 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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Ohio State University
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Thomas Kerwin
Director of Operations OSU Driving Simulation Lab
Principal Investigators
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Brad Bushman, PhD
Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
Ohio State University
Locations
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The Ohio State University Driving Simulation Laboratory
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Countries
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References
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Bushman, B. J., Kerwin, T., Whitlock, T., & Weisenberger, J. M. (2017). The weapons effect on wheels: Motorists drive more aggressively when there is a gun in the vehicle. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 73, 82-85. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.06.007
Cheng, J. C., & Monroe, M. C. (2012). Connection to nature: Children's affective attitude toward nature. Environment and Behavior, 44(1), 31-49. doi:10.1177/0013916510385082
Spielberger, C. D. (1988). State-trait anger expression inventory: STAXI professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Wickens CM, Wiesenthal DL, Flora DB, Flett GL. Understanding driver anger and aggression: attributional theory in the driving environment. J Exp Psychol Appl. 2011 Dec;17(4):354-70. doi: 10.1037/a0025815. Epub 2011 Oct 10.
Provided Documents
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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan: Experiment 2 adjusted
Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan: Experiment 5 adjusted
Other Identifiers
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2018B0081
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id