The association between the Big Five personality traits and driving behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2023

Xiaohui Luo, and Yan Ge, and Weina Qu
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Although a large number of studies have examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and driving behaviors, consistent evidence for their relationships is still lacking. The main purpose of this study was to systematically review the relationships between the Big Five personality traits and various driving behaviors with different intentions (including risky, aggressive, and positive driving behaviors) through a meta-analysis. A total of 34 articles met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The results showed that risky and aggressive driving behaviors were negatively associated with conscientiousness (r = -0.21; r = -0.26), agreeableness (r = -0.23; r = -0.37), and openness (r = -0.08; r = -0.07), positively associated with neuroticism (r = 0.11; r = 0.26), and nonsignificantly associated with extraversion (r = 0.06; r = -0.06). Positive driving behaviors were positively associated with conscientiousness (r = 0.30), agreeableness (r = 0.32) and openness (r = 0.20) but nonsignificantly associated with extraversion (r = 0.08) and neuroticism (r = -0.10). In addition, the association between the Big Five personality traits and driving behaviors could be moderated by age, gender and type of personality measure. In conclusion, this study contributes to the literature by quantitatively synthesizing existing findings and reconciling previous debates on the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and driving behaviors. From a practical perspective, our findings provide valuable insights into driver selection and screening, policy development, and safety intervention design.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010551 Personality Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual. Personalities
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000063 Accidents, Traffic Accidents on streets, roads, and highways involving drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or vehicles. Traffic accidents refer to AUTOMOBILES (passenger cars, buses, and trucks), BICYCLING, and MOTORCYCLES but not OFF-ROAD MOTOR VEHICLES; RAILROADS nor snowmobiles. Traffic Collisions,Traffic Crashes,Traffic Accidents,Accident, Traffic,Collision, Traffic,Collisions, Traffic,Crashes, Traffic,Traffic Accident,Traffic Collision
D000075384 Neuroticism Personality trait related to tendency to respond to threat, frustration or a loss with negative emotions (e.g., ANGER; ANXIETY; FRUSTRATION; embarrassment and sadness). Neuroticism Traits,Neuroticism Trait
D000077314 Aggressive Driving Combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property. (https://nhtsa.gov/Driving-Safety/Aggressive-Driving) Driving, Aggressive
D000374 Aggression Behavior which may be manifested by destructive and attacking action which is verbal or physical, by covert attitudes of hostility or by obstructionism. Aggressions
D001334 Automobile Driving The effect of environmental or physiological factors on the driver and driving ability. Included are driving fatigue, and the effect of drugs, disease, and physical disabilities on driving. Automobile Drivings,Driving, Automobile,Drivings, Automobile

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