title: A psychological predictor of elders' driving performance: social-comparisons on the road.
abstract: Older individuals often believe they can drive better than their contemporaries. This belief is an example of downward social-comparisons; they can be self-enhancing tools that lead to beneficial outcomes. As predicted, we found that drivers who engaged in downward social-comparisons were significantly less likely to have adverse driving events over time, after controlling for relevant factors (p= .02). This effect was particularly strong among women, who tend to experience more negative driving stereotypes (p= .01). The study was based on 897 interviews of 117 elder drivers, aged 70-89 years, over 2 years. Our findings suggest that interventions to reduce adverse driving events among elders could benefit from including a psychological component.
authors.affiliation: Yale University.
authors.forename: Becca R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Yale University.
authors.forename: Reuben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Yale University.
authors.forename: Lindsey M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Yale University.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Marottoli