Road conditionality and personality: an exploratory study among young male and female French drivers
Résumé
In France, as in other countries, young drivers have a higher risk of being killed on the road than other drivers. Because several sociodemographic variables must be taken into account, these are tested here through specific approaches. The theory of conditionality postulates that norms are essentially conditional and in the field of traffic a specific tool has been devised to measure legitimate transgressions of the Highway Code. As for the concept of Locus of Control developed from social learning theories, it makes it possible to measure a personality trait. In this exploratory study, 21 young male and 29 young female drivers filled out both tools. Comparisons dealt with gender, age and level of education for these two types of measures. The results confirm the presumed differences overall, the discussion bearing on the results observed with regard to the literature.