Effects of personality traits on bus drivers’ prosocial and aggressive behaviours: The moderated mediating role of risk perception and gender

Abstract

Purpose The present study aimed to examine the effects of personality traits on bus drivers’ self-reported prosocial and aggressive driving behaviours as well as the mediating role of risk perception and the moderating role of gender in this relationship. Methods Three hundred and ten bus drivers who were 24–57 years old agreed to participate in this study. The measures utilized included personality scales, a risk perception scale and a prosocial and aggressive driving behaviour scale. Results A moderated mediation model was established. The effects of normlessness/anger on prosocial driving behaviour are mediated by risk perception. Risk perception has a stronger promoting effect on the prosocial driving behaviour of male drivers (b = 0.358, p < 0.01) than it does on that of female drivers (b = 0.072, p > 0.05). The effects of normlessness/anger on the aggressive driving behaviour of both male and female drivers are also mediated by risk perception. Moreover, gender plays a moderating role in the influences of personality and risk perception on aggressive driving behaviour. Drivers with higher risk perception and less anger exhibit less aggressive driving behaviour, and this effect is clearer among male drivers than it is among female drivers. Conclusion The present study revealed the relationship between personality traits and the prosocial and aggressive driving behaviours of bus drivers through a moderated mediation model. These findings highlight the importance of taking risk perception and gender into consideration when examining the effects of personality on bus drivers’ driving behaviours.