DrivingResearch.

Expression of anger while driving - personality and self-consciousness in Chinese drivers

Zhai, Chenzhao; Jamson, Samantha; Batool, Zahara; Jopson, Ann · 2023 · Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2023.100838

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the relationship between personality traits, self-consciousness, and the expression of driving anger among Chinese drivers. Motivated by the high prevalence of traffic injuries and aggressive driving behaviors in China, the research addresses a gap in understanding how dispositional traits influence anger expression in this specific cultural context. While previous research often utilized the Big Five personality model, this study employs the HEXACO model, which includes the distinct dimension of Honesty-Humility, and examines self-consciousness as a potential predictor of non-adaptive anger expressions. The researchers conducted an online survey with 559 valid participants holding Chinese driving licenses. The questionnaire included the 14-item Driving Anger Scale (DAS) to measure trait anger, the Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI) for personality, and the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS). To assess anger expression, the study adapted the 15-item Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) for Chinese drivers using a back-translation method. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to validate the DAX structure, followed by Hierarchical Multiple Regression and moderation analyses to examine the predictive power of personality and self-consciousness on anger expression. The analysis yielded a reliable three-factor structure for the DAX, labeled “Adaptive Expression,” “Verbal Expression,” and “Physical and Vehicle Expression.” Demographic analysis revealed that males and experienced drivers reported higher levels of Physical and Vehicle Expression compared to females and novices. Traffic offenders exhibited a greater inclination toward Verbal Expression. Regarding dispositional traits, Honesty-Humility had a significant negative effect on both Verbal and Physical/Vehicle Expression, supporting the hypothesis that this trait mitigates aggressive behavior. Conversely, private self-consciousness was positively related to an increase in these non-adaptive expressions. Crucially, the study found that Honesty-Humility and private self-consciousness moderated the relationship between trait driving anger and non-adaptive expressions in opposite directions. The findings highlight the utility of the HEXACO model, particularly the Honesty-Humility dimension, in predicting driving anger expression in Chinese populations, aligning with cultural values emphasizing humility and harmony. The validation of a shorter, three-factor DAX provides a practical tool for future research. The results suggest that interventions aimed at mitigating driving anger in China should consider personality traits and self-awareness, as high Honesty-Humility may serve as a protective factor against aggressive expression, while high private self-consciousness may exacerbate it.

Key finding

Humility-Honesty and private self-consciousness moderated the relationship between trait driving anger and non-adaptive anger expressions in opposite ways, with Humility-Honesty reducing and private self-consciousness increasing such expressions.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 559

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via scout_discovery on 2026-05-08.

StageOutcomeToolModelPromptAttemptsCompleted
discover partial scout — — 2 2026-05-08
archive success canonical_url — — 10 2026-06-06
extract success cached — — 3 2026-06-10
clean success clean — — 1 2026-06-07
chunk success chunk — — 1 2026-06-07
embed success embed Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B — 1 2026-06-07
enrich failed — — — 4 2026-07-02
promote success — — — 1 2026-06-04
summarize success llm qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant summ-v5 2 2026-06-10
tag success vector_similarity — — 15 2026-06-11
verify success — — — 2 2026-06-10

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).