The Effects of Various Music on Angry Drivers' Subjective, Behavioral, and Physiological States

Emotions influence the way drivers process and react to internal or environmental factors. Specifically, anger is a serious threat on the road. While driving, a majority of drivers listen to music, which is quite an emotional stimulus. In this study, we investigated the effects of various types of music (happy, sad, and self-selected music) on angry drivers in a simulated driving. Sixtyone participants were randomly assigned in five groups: Angry drivers who drove with self-selected music, angry drivers with happy music, angry drivers with sad music, angry drivers without music, and neutral drivers without music as a baseline. Three levels of outcomes (subjective, behavioral and physiological data) were analyzed. Emotion induction was successful, but no specific emotional music significantly influenced their subjective affect ratings. Angry drivers with self-selected music showed more aggressive driving behavior. Sad music increased drivers' heart rate more. Implications are discussed with emotion intervention systems.