Sensitivity to Punishment, Sensitivity to Reward and Driving Risk Perception between Offender and Non- Offender Drivers: A Comparative Study

Traffic violations and accidents are serious problems of social and public management in most societies. While much research has been done on the etiology and human factors associated with traffic violations and accidents, the role of psychological factors, especially personality and cognitive variables, less attention has been paid. This study aimed to compare the sensitivity to punishment, sensitivity to reward, and driving risk perception in two groups of offending and non- offending drivers.

In this cross-sectional study, 80 drivers (42 individuals in the offending group and 38 individuals in the non-offending group) from Iran, bojnord, in 2020 were selected by purposeful and available sampling. Data was collected using the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaires -Revised and Clarified (SPSRQ-RC) and the Driving Hazard Perception Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of covariance.

There were statistically significant difference in sensitivity to punishment between the two groups of offending and non-offending drivers, and the offending group had less sensitivity to punishment than the non-offending group (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in sensitivity to reward (p>0.05). also, results showed that there were significant difference between the two groups in driving risk perception; driving risk perception in offending drivers was less than non- offending drivers (p<0.05).

Lower sensitivity to punishment and driving risk perception is associated with more driving violations. Accordingly, Strategies generating campaigns that focus on negative sanctions that could activate the BIS may be particularly effective in reducing illegal and risky driving behaviors. Also, the driving risk perception can be considered an essential factor in screening drivers for a driver's license.