Gender stereotypes and superior conformity of the self in a sample of cyclists

doi:10.1016/j.aap.2012.05.006

Accident Analysis & Prevention

Volume 50, January 2013, Pages 336-340

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2012.05.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

In the field of driving, people tend to think they are more competent and more cautious than others. This is the superior conformity of the self (SCS). Our main hypothesis was that, among cyclists, women would show a higher SCS on cautiousness, though men would show a higher SCS concerning competence. 1799 cyclists provided a self-assessment of their own cautiousness and of other people's cautiousness. The same procedure was used for competence. Consistent with the hypothesis, the SCS was gender-specific: it was more prominent for women concerning cautiousness and more prominent for men concerning competence. These results could explain why people tend to ignore the safety campaigns. They also indicate the importance of adapting messages concerning safety measures to gender.

Highlights

► We aimed to observe the superior conformity of the self in a sample of cyclists. ► We chose to study two social norms on the road: cautiousness and competence. ► Our main hypothesis was that the SCS was gender-specific, depending on these norms. ► We found SCS was more prominent for women on cautiousness and for men on competence. ► These results could explain why people tend to ignore the safety campaigns.

Introduction

In the field of driving, the existence of bias involved in comparison with others has often been shown (Gosselin et al., 2010, Holland, 1993, Morisset et al., 2010, Walton and McKeown, 2010, Williams, 2003, White et al., 2011). People think they have better driving skills than others and by extension, that they are less likely to have an accident (Delhomme, 1991, Horswill et al., 2004, Waylen et al., 2004).

The opinion of superiority over others is a positive illusion bias and was well illustrated in the works of Codol (1973) on the superior conformity of the self (SCS). According to Codol, the individual is both forced to conform to social norms and to differentiate him/herself from others in order to preserve his/her own self. To resolve this contradiction, the optimal solution is to declare oneself different from others as regards conformity with norms.

Generally, in the field of driving, research focuses primarily on cognitive biases and positive illusions; normative issues are given a minor role. The SCS is “the tendency to present oneself as more in conformity with the norms than others are” (Codol, 1973, p. 565). This phenomenon is thus always held up by social norms. It is therefore of major interest because it can connect positive illusion bias and social norms, often viewed as two separate domains of explanation.

The two norms of competence and cautiousness seem to define what good behaviour on the road should be. Competence is regularly central in studies, but reduced to a list of behavioural skills (Waylen et al., 2004). However, to study competence as a norm, it needs to be approached as a general component of driving. Cautiousness is usually not addressed as such, but through its opposite: risk-taking.

The social assessment of competence and cautiousness, and therefore the level of SCS, may vary according to gender. Indeed, gender is an important identity marker and men and women tend to appropriate the gender characteristics of the group, even without an intergroup context of comparison (Durand-Delvigne, 1997, Eagly and Wood, 1999, Hurtig and Pichevin, 1998, Stewart et al., 2007). However, gender stereotypes are clearly distinct. For example, women are associated with anticipation before acting, while men are associated with greater risk-taking (Nallet et al., 2010, Öskan and Lajunen, 2006, Rhodes and Pivik, 2011). From this perspective, norms of competence and cautiousness seem to be “gender-specific.” Women are generally encouraged to be more cautious than men, for whom the social imperative of competence matches their gender stereotype (Cuddy et al., 2009).

Gender stereotypes are often illustrated by the type of vehicle. A powerful vehicle is associated with masculinity and it has been observed that men drive more powerful cars (TNS/SOFRES, 2004). We chose to observe a population of cyclists because, in principle, cycling escapes this categorization. In addition, cyclists have been studied less than other road users (Johnson et al., 2011, Wood et al., 2009).

Section snippets

The current research

The motivation for conducting this study was to test the effect of SCS in the field of cycling which, to our knowledge, has not been done so far. In doing so, we wanted to understand the psychosocial determinants upstream of an accident: in other words, it is interesting to introduce the perception that every person has their own competence and cautiousness, which can lead to overconfidence and generate accidents. It is also interesting to analyse this perception as the effect of stereotype and

Participants

A randomized, controlled intervention trial was carried out in Bordeaux, a city of 600,000 inhabitants located in south-west France. Participants were recruited from June 19th 2009 to August 13th 2010 at a municipal structure (“La Maison du Vélo”) where people can take out a bicycle on loan free of charge for a minimum period of 4 months. Information about the trial was given to each person entering the structure during the recruitment period. They had to be the sole users of the bicycles

Results

Each participant obtained two scores for the cautiousness component (response with regard to self and that with regard to others). These scores were submitted to a 2 (type of answer: with regard to self vs. with regard to others) × 2 (participant gender) ANOVA, with repeated measures on the first factor. The results showed a main effect of the type of answer (F_1,1792 = 956.69, p < 0.001, $η_{p}^{2} = 0.35$ ) and of gender (F_1,1792 = 6.20, p < 0.05, $η_{p}^{2} = 0.003$ ). The results also yielded a type of answer × gender

Discussion

The literature shows that SCS is among the most robust of positive illusion biases. People tend to judge their own ability as being superior to that of others (McKenna, 1993, McKenna et al., 1991, Weinstein, 1980). This effect has been demonstrated in a wide range of domains and using a variety of methods. We can suppose that the response in terms of SCS has the function of maintaining positive self-esteem and preserving mental health (Taylor and Brown, 1988). For example, people have been

Funding

This project was funded by the French Research Agency (ANR), the French Institute for Prevention and Health Education (INPES), and the Aquitaine Region.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their thanks to the municipality of Bordeaux, and in particular to the staff at the “Maison du Vélo.”

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Gender stereotypes and superior conformity of the self in a sample of cyclists

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

The current research

Participants

Results

Discussion

Funding

Acknowledgments

Journal of Safety Research

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Developmental Review

Journal of Safety Research

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Journal of Safety Research

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Personality and Individual Differences

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Safety Science

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Journal of Safety Research

Accident Analysis and Prevention

Spécial Economie du vélo

Risk perception and decision taking during the transition from novice to experienced driver status

Ergonomics