Music + Road Rage study

Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 11:23:04 +1000
Newsgroups: aus.culture.gothic
Size: 2,216 bytes

Full article at
http://www-pso.adm.monash.edu.au/news/Story.asp?ID=989&SortType=1
*****
"Debunking the myth about techno music and road rage"
A commonly held belief that the type of music someone listens to while
driving may influence their behaviour on the roads could prove to be a
myth, according to a Monash University study by Dr Nikki Rickard and
honours student Mr James Pett.
Dr Rickard, from the Department of Psychology, says the study on driving
anger, based on answers from self-reporting questionnaires,initially
pointed to fans of techno and rock music having significantly higher
levels of driving anger than those who listened to classical music.
But further analysis, which took other factors known to predict driving
anger into account, suggested that a link with music type was likely to
be spurious, with a driver's tendency towards anger and anxiety as well
as stress levels being considerably more powerful predictors.
[...]
An application to fund a further study is currently being considered by
the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. If the grant is approved, Dr
Rickard plans to work with a research group of about 200 people - a mix
of younger and older drivers, experienced and inexperienced.
The new research would involve asking a sample group of drivers to
listen to certain types of music they wouldn't normally listen to while
they were on the road.
"Far from adding to driver stress, there is some evidence that a person
listening to their music of choice, even techno or heavy metal, can
experience some degree of stress release, but we need more research to
confirm this," Dr Rickard said.
Anyone interested in taking part in Dr Rickard's future research should
contact her directly.
*****
For contact details for the study, follow the link.
I don't drive, but maybe some of you guys wot do might be interested in
taking part. Could be very interesting to find out what effect Andrew
Eldritch has on driving stress. :)
Barbarella.
--
"We've been in here too long. I feel unusual.
I think we should go outside." - Withnail.
http://www.internettrash.com/users/barbarella
http://theUnfaithfulWriter.blogspot.com