Recent research has found that women are usually angrier than men when driving. Hyundai UK did a study of 1,000 UK drivers and found that women are on average 12 per cent angrier than their male counterparts when behind the wheel.
The way the study worked is that participating drivers were ‘sense-tested’ by Patrick Fagan, a behavioural psychologist from Goldsmiths University London. While the participants were behind the wheel, they were subjected to various changes including in sound, sight and smell and their reactions were recorded.
During the test, the female drivers involved were undertaken by other vehicles on the road, shouted at or beeped at. All of this led to them being 14 per cent angrier than the male drivers according to the researchers’ estimates.
Women were also found to be 13 per cent angrier than men when faced with a fellow road user who failed to indicate before moving.
Fagan said: “Psychologically, women score higher than men on emotional and verbal intelligence, and on the personality trait of neuroticism. Evolutionary theory suggests our early female ancestors had to develop an acute sense of danger for anything that threatened them and their young if their cave was undefended while out hunting.
“That ‘early warning system’ instinct is still relevant today, and women drivers tend to be more sensitive to negative stimuli, so get angry and frustrated quicker.”
Happiness and anger dominates driving
The study found that two particular emotions crop up when it comes to driving. There’s happiness, which arises because of the sense of freedom related to driving, and anger, which occurs when a driver feels a lack of control.
It was also found that men find it easier to have a conversation while driving a car. Just under a third of men assessed said they could open up more easily when behind the wheel.
