Psychological experiences and travel Adversities: A Mixed-Method study of the regular commuters in traffic congestion

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Traffic psychology and behaviour, 2024-02, Vol.101, p.130-141
• Main Authors: Celine Liya, Maria, Kareepadath Rajan, Santhosh, Kenath, Arun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fight-or-flight; Negative affect; Negative road occurrences; Psychological experiences and consequences; Traffic congestion; Travel adversities
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2024.01.006

•The study investigated the psychological experiences of regular commuters in traffic congestion using a three-phase sequential exploratory mixed design.•Phase 1 established a thematic network of travel adversities, psychological experiences, and consequences with 57 fundamental themes categorized and assigned under the organizing themes of travel adversity, negative affect, fight, flight, and negative road occurrences.•In phase 2, a checklist was developed listing the fundamental themes from phase 1 with Likert-type responses ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (always).•Phase 3 statistically validated the model of the vicious cycle, based on which a mathematical model was formulated for further interdisciplinary inquiries on the prediction and control of traffic behavior in real-world settings. This study investigated the psychological experiences and consequences of travel adversities during traffic congestion using a three-phase sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. Phase 1 explored the travel adversities, psychological experiences, and consequences of a sample of ten (four women and six men) regular commuters of Bangalore's congested roads using semi-structured interviews. In phase 2, a checklist was developed listing the fundamental themes from phase 1 with Likert-type responses ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (always). Phase 3 gathered data in the checklist and tested the statistical validity of the thematic model in a sample of 190 (81 women and 103 men) regular commuters. Attride-Stirling model thematic network was established with 57 fundamental themes categorized and assigned under the organizing themes of travel adversities (n = 6), negative affect (n = 28), fight (n = 7), flight (n = 6), and negative road occurrences (n = 10), in the global theme, psychological experiences and consequences. Structural equation modeling indicated that (1) negative affect significantly predicted fight and flight, (2) fight is a significant predictor of negative road occurrences, and (3) psychological experiences and consequences create a self-perpetuating cycle, with travel adversity triggering negative emotions, which results in fight responses leading to negative road occurrences, further intensifying travel adversity. A mathematical model is established based on this statistical validation, which holds potential applications in real-time traffic algorithms.