Letting go while driving: how forgiveness mediates the relationship between self-control and displaced aggression behind the wheel

Date

2026-04-01

Author

Oker, Kumsal İpek
Budak, Nesrin
Öz, Bahar

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Understanding the psychological mechanisms behind driver aggression is crucial for road safety, as aggressive driving increases the risk of road traffic crashes. While prior research has explored driver aggression, the underlying mechanisms and types of anger, such as displaced aggression, remain under-examined. Displaced aggression refers to anger directed at an unrelated target, and this behavior is frequently observed in traffic due to the social dynamics of road users. It has been known that high aggression is associated with low self-control. Conversely, several studies have shown that high self-control facilitates forgiveness, which, in turn, reduces anger and resentment. However, the relationship among these three variables has not yet been studied. In the current study, we investigated the mediating role of forgiveness in the relationship between self-control and driver-displaced aggression with 433 drivers (M = 30.9, SD = 12.44). Findings indicated that both self-control and forgiveness negatively correlated with driver-displaced aggression, with forgiveness mediating the relationship between self-control and displaced aggression. These results are discussed in light of the existing literature, highlighting potential implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

Subject Keywords

Displaced aggression, Driver aggression, Forgiveness, Road rage, Self-control

URI

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105035819512&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119284

Collections

Department of Psychology, Article