Zornitsa Totkova
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 11, 2024, No. 1
Research directions of contemporary transport psychology in Bulgaria
Zornitsa Totkova
Abstract. Transport psychology plays a pivotal role in explaining, understanding and predicting human behaviour within the complex dynamics of the human-vehicle-environment system. Outlining contemporary research directions in the field is therefore essential. The article presents the state-of-art of the field of transport psychology and introduces two contemporary studies on driving behaviour in Bulgaria. These comprehensive studies reveal the intricate interplay between personality factors and driving styles among Bulgarian drivers. On the one hand, the studies unveil the effect of anxiety, sensation seeking, driving anger, aggressive driving behaviour, and risky driving behaviour on negative driving outcomes, such as registered traffic violations and accident involvement. On the other hand, they explore the concept of driving styles, identifying eight distinct patterns and their association with road safety incidents. By presenting the field of transport psychology and the results of these studies, the article highlights the significance of the discipline in solving road safety problems.
Keywords: transport psychology, personality, driving styles, driving behaviour