Intervening to Manage Anger: Road Rage

Scope of activities Feedback to employees and groups of employees Self-evaluation and awareness Triggers, thoughts, reactions Reasoning Attribution Information provision Why get angry and consequences Understand the process of anger and escalation Skills  help individuals to identify the beginning signs of frustration and what they can do about it Change to norms  Increase importance ascribed to safety values  Pro-social norms

Self-evaluation and awareness

Identify the triggers What cheeses me off??? Context – road and off-road Activity to identify the potential triggers (individual approach – debrief as a group) Document Usual responses  Other cutting in  Changing lanes without indicating  Dangerous maneuvers

ANGER ZONECALM ZONE TRIGGERSTHOUGHTSREACTIONSTHOUGHTS/ REASONS Cutting in Dangerous maneuvers

Identify the cognitions - others What are the things you are thinking as people do things the annoy you? Individual identification and/or collated and documented as a group Context = road Usual responses  Swearing about other person  That’s dangerous  That person needs to taught a lesson

ANGER ZONECALM ZONE TRIGGERSTHOUGHTSREACTIONSTHOUGHTS/ REASONS Cutting in Dangerous maneuvers Idiot Teach a lesson Get them back

Identify the behaviours What do you do when others annoy you and you have these (negative) thoughts? Individual activity with responses collated and documented as a group Usual responses include  Chase the person (to teach as lesson)  Give them the finger  Yell out at them  Try to catch up to do any of the above and more (elicit a chase)

ANGER ZONECALM ZONE TRIGGERSTHOUGHTSREACTIONSTHOUGHTS/ REASONS Cutting in Dangerous maneuvers Idiot Teach a lesson Get them back Chase Gesture Yell Cut off

Reasoning Pose a series of questions  Is it ok to think and behave in this way?  What are our individual justifications?  Do they make sense? If ambulance cuts in – what are we thinking and what do we do? If others do it (e.g.., not an ambulance, what are we thinking and what do we do?  Why does this make sense?  What is it that is different about the ambulance example? THOUGHTS  Our responses (in terms of behaviours) are MODERATED by our thoughts – we can be driven by our thoughts to change our responses to triggers The responsibility is OURS as individuals

Identify cognitions - us Not all perfect – have drifted lanes, run a red light, cut in front of someone What are the reasons that we use when we do it?  Usual responses In a rush Thinking about something else In a rush Distracted by something on the radio On the phone Already in an argument

ANGER ZONECALM ZONE TRIGGERSTHOUGHTSREACTIONSTHOUGHTS/ REASONS Cutting in Dangerous maneuvers Idiot Teach a lesson Get them back Chase Gesture Yell Cut off In a rush Thinking about something else

Attribution Focal concept in self-management of anger Others - we attribute their behaviour to them personally  ‘the person is bad/wrong/flawed in some way’ Us – attribute our behaviour more globally  ‘we are doing it because something else is going on that is causing us to act in that way’ There is an unbalanced perspective that polarizes our cognitions – defends our own rights and behaviours as individuals A fundamental reason for angry situations to develop on the roads

Information provision

Why do we get angry on the road? Anonymity in a traffic situation Sensation seeking In an angry mood already Belief that have superior driving skills In a rush Traffic congestion

Consequences Image of organisation Legal issues Criminal offence Injury to self or others Fines Loss of position in organisation Family impact

The ‘ANGER’ Process Natural physiological reaction – hard to handle Anger trajectory - i magine 0 to 100 scale Escalation happens quickly Starts with frustration What happens when get frustrated?  Clenched fists, teeth  Increased heart rate  Sweating/feeling hot  Trembling  Shallow/rapid breath At about 40, anger escalates – takes off in terms of the severity of the emotion and in terms of the ability to be able to control the emotions being experienced

Anger – what can’t we do Can’t teach others a lesson  5 second exchange at best – no real form of verbal or nonverbal communication  Can’t communicate the message you want to in the available time Can’t communicate safely Can’t control others behaviour  Might want to but just can’t  Enough trouble managing our own in an angry exchange

Skills

Anger before hitting the “40” mark More control over this part of the process Interventions  Awareness of body cues Clenched fists, teeth Increased heart rate Sweating/feeling hot Trembling Shallow/rapid breath  Thought replacement Think ‘green light’ thoughts – that is, replace the angry cognitions with the cognitions or reasons that were identified with regard to why ‘we’ do things that could make others angry EG – ‘maybe they’re lost’, ‘I think that person is a bit distracted – let’s just get out of the way’

After hitting the 40 mark Much harder to control Need to work on reducing the physiology of the anger process Interventions include  All others that were identified for below the 40 mark  Count to ten  Calming self talk  Slow and deep breathing

Hook Heart attack patient intervention About identifying and not responding to triggers Come up against about 30 potential triggers in any one day If respond to all – become very angry – useless responses though as many of these events won’t be remembered by the end of the day

Hook imagery Fish – swimming in a stream If fish bites on every hook, is not going to live long Fundamental notion  Swim on by, ignore the triggers  Replace ‘anger zone’ with ‘calm zone’ (more rational) thoughts

Changing norms

Increase importance ascribed to prosocial driving behaviours Develop a culture of safe and pro-social driving  Sorry  Thank-you  Doing nothing  Wave

Culture Change Strategic Action Steps 1. Identify small wins 2. Generate social support - empower agents 3. Provide information and feedback 4. Measure - record 5. Explain why 6. Implement symbolic change as well as substantive change

Overall Have the responsibility to control our own responses Accept that responsibility Elect to choose control rather than losing control THINK about what you are thinking – examine your thoughts THINK about what you are doing – does it achieve anything? – who is it helping?