A quantitative review of the relationship between anger and aggressive driving

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the relationship between anger and aggressive driving. It was hypothesized that: 1) there is a significant positive relationship between anger and aggressive driving; 2) this relationship systematically differs based on whether anger is trait-based, state/mood-based, or situation-specific; 3) this relationship also varies depending on the mode of measurement; and 4) the relationship between specific anger type and aggressive driving is heterogeneous. The three types of anger are described within the context of state-trait theory and a quantitative analysis was conducted using meta-analytic techniques. Results indicate that anger is generally associated with aggressive driving; however, subtypes of anger do not differentially predict negative driving outcomes. Findings are discussed from theoretical and psychometric perspectives. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.