Psychological measurement: theory and applications

Psychological Trait Measurement

The author of this report is asked to create a psychological-related test that measures something important yet psychological in nature. To that end, the author of this report is going to have a test that measure stress and anger in drivers as they commute to work in a rush hour environment. The different levels of reaction times and emotions expressed will be capture and measured so as to find out the depth and breadth of a person's problems with driving in a dicey commute. While no such test is going to be exhaustive and perpetually accurate, the test can at least point practitioners using the test in the right direction (Aiken & Groth-Marnat, 2006).

Analysis

A proper review of a person's reactions and performance in traffic and how it might degrade when they get angry or stressed requires a dual-pronged measurement approach that focuses on both positive and negative behaviors as well as reaction times and performance overall during each. This sort of dual-yardstick approach is needed to show how driving quality is during good moods and how this compares to times when the driver's mood goes south. The psychological dimensions measured are there to show performance under stress and what precise manifestations are present. Evaluation of what manifestations exist as well as what appears to be causing them would both be important details to look at (Albrecht, 2013; Kirchner, 2014).

Given the above, the dimensions that should and would be assessed are as follows. Five of the facets will be driving-related and the others will be psychological in nature. The directions of the test are to measure each type of driving metric both before and during times of stress and outrage and then comparing the two. The design of the test is a dual focus on driving in particular and how psychological traits manifest and render themselves while driving. The type of test will be an observational test that can be done via a video camera with a preference being on the driver not knowing they are being watched (to avoid the Hawtorne effect) but consent can be garnered if ethically necessary. The scoring will be fairly simple in that reaction times and the prevalence of good and bad behaviors will be measured in frequency and average time of reaction and such in terms of seconds or minutes. The metrics that will be looked at are as follows:

Braking Performance: This would measure how and when people in the car brake, especially as compared to the conditions that lead to the breaking including reckless drivers, sudden stops, and so forth

Acceleration Habits: This would look at how quickly someone in the car speeds up including after stopping at a stoplight, when traffic speeds up after a bottleneck and traffic and so on Lane Change Habits: This would assess how and when lane changes are made and whether these are done prudently and properly given the traffic situation. Dimensions assessed would be if/when signal is used, how swiftly one moves from one lane to another and so forth.

Gestures or speech to other drivers: Any speech or gesticulations to other drivers, positive or negative, would be assessed for their extremity, tone and ostensible motivation therefore.

Tone of Voice: For when voices are used in reaction to the driving experience, it will be important to look at what is being said, how it is being said and why it is being said.

Aggressiveness: If a person's driving tactics or general driving habits cross the line between assertive into being aggressive, then that should be noted.

Reaction Time: The reaction time experience and how it correlates to braking response, acceleration and swerving/lane changes will all be looked at in a psychological context

Eye Activity: How much a person does or does not look at the road and if/when that changes in response to activity around the car will be looked at Inter-Car Activities: What the person does in the car either with or without stress including fiddling with the radio or phone, playing with the air conditioner and so forth will all be looked at both before and during any stressful activity.

While the above may not seem to be psychological in nature, looking at how people react, why they react, what they do, how they do it and so forth are all important when assessing the psychological triggers and reasons for why people behave as they do when they drive. This could be used to investigate things such as organizational skills, leaving work in time to get where is needed properly and road rage. The contents of the car would also be important including clutter, accessories (GPS, etc.), drinks (including alcohol) or even weapons. What is in a car defines a person not unlike what is in their place of residence. Strengths of the test include the fact that the psychological metrics are strongly correlated with the activities. A weakness would be that the test would probably not be usable for any other typical daily activity.