In Situ Methodology for Studying State Driver Stress: A Between-Subjects Design Replication

• Published in: Journal of applied biobehavioral research Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 37 - 51
• Main Authors: Wickens, Christine M., Wiesenthal, David L., Roseborough, James E. W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Columbia Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Medical research; REAL ID Act 2005-US; Research design
• ISSN: 1071-2089; 1751-9861
• DOI: 10.1111/jabr.12029

Previous studies of driver stress have utilized in‐vehicle in situ questionnaires to measure driver stress during the actual commute. These studies demonstrated several important findings, but all adopted a repeated‐measures research design where each participant was exposed to counterbalanced high and low congestion conditions. This approach reduced between‐subjects variability but increased the possibility of demand characteristics. The current study replicated the findings of the in situ methodology using a between‐subjects research design. State stress was greater in heavy traffic. Time urgency, lack of perceived control, and trait susceptibility to perceiving driving as stressful contributed to higher levels of state driver stress. No gender differences in state driver stress were found. Implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.