Low-speed accidents with buses in public transport in the city of Uppsala during the years 1986–2000 are coded in 17 variables concerning mainly physical properties of the accident. The taxonomy uses classifications from existing schemes, but some are altered and some new are added to capture common features of reports of bus accidents in this population. It is found that side contacts and singles are the most common accidents, and that more than a quarter of all accident involvements occurs at bus stops. Inter-rater reliability calculations for the categories show that all except one have reliabilities above 80%. The level of internal validity, calculated as agreement of frequencies between time periods, is acceptable, despite many possible sources of change and bias. It is argued that the validity of this database far exceeds that of the, for research purposes normally used, non-company self-reports, state- and police-archives, due to more extensive reporting and corroborating evidence. The practical usefulness of these results and accident taxonomies in general is discussed.

Problem: Driver celeration (speed change) behavior of bus drivers has previously been found to predict their traffic incident involvement, but it has also been ascertained that the level of celeration is influenced by the number of passengers carried as well as other traffic density variables. This means that the individual level of celeration is not as well estimated as could be the case. Another hypothesized influence of the number of passengers is that of differential quality of measurements, where high passenger density cirrcumstances are supposed to yield better estimates of the individual driver component of celeration behavior. Method: Comparisons were made between different variants of the celeration as predictor of traffic incidents of bus drivers. The number of bus passengers was held constant, and cases identified by their number of passengers per kilometer during measurement were excluded (in 12 samples of repeated measurements). Results: After holding passengers constant, the correlations between celeration behavior and incident record increased very slightly. Also, the selective prediction of incident record of those drivers who had had many passengers when measured increased the correlations even more. Conclusions: The influence of traffic density variables like the number of passengers have little direct influence on the predictive power of celeration behavior, despite the impact upon absolute celeration level. Selective prediction on the other hand increased correlations substantially. This unusual effect was probably due to how the individual propensity for high or low celeration driving was affected by the number of stops made and general traffic density; differences between drivers in this respect were probably enhanced by the denser traffic, thus creating a better estimate of the theoretical celeration behavior parameter C. The new concept of selective prediction was discussed in terms of making estimates of the systematic differences in quality of the individual driver data.

Celeration (speed change) behaviour of drivers has been posited to be the best predictor of their traffic accident involvement. The origins of this behaviour, however, have not been specified. A model is therefore introduced, where celeration is partly due to the individual disposition of the driver (i.e., driving style), and partly to the environment (road layout, rules and traffic density). Three measurement problems for celeration were studied; the effect of traffic density, of regular versus irregular routes, and weight of the vehicle (loaded/unloaded) on celeration behaviour. Two small samples of truck drivers in Sweden were measured for several months each. There was a strong effect of vehicle load, with behaviour being more cautious with increased weight. Driving on different roads also yielded differences in behaviour, although the design used did not permit conclusions about what caused these. Traffic volume was not found to have any reliable effect on celeration.

The influences of heat and rain upon accident risk of city buses in a Swedish town were studied for a 10-year time period, but no reliable effects found, despite the fact that the temperature might be as high as 30 degrees C outside the vehicles. As the use of single accidents with buses bypasses many of the methodological problems inherent in the study of weather effects on accident rates, for example changes in general traffic density, the present study was a rather strict test of the hypothesis of increased accident risk due to these factors. It was therefore concluded that rain and high temperatures do not increase the risk of accident for low-speed buses in Sweden. However, there could still be an effect of hot weather on bus accidents at higher temperatures than those normally found in Sweden.

Driver celeration (speed change) behavior of bus drivers measured a number of times was used to predict their culpable accidents over increasing time periods. It was found that predictive power was considerable (>.30 correlation) over 5 years of time with aggregated celeration (mean of repeated measurements) as independent variables, and there were also indications that power reached even further, although too low Ns made these results unreliable. Similarly, there were indications of even stronger correlations with increased aggregation of celeration values. The results were discussed in terms of the methodology needed to bring out such results, and the stability of accident-causing behavior over time.

To investigate whether there is a difference in accident risk for differently sized truck configurations, a meta-analysis was undertaken of all available research. It was found that most studies had been made in the US, and that several methodological problems have plagued this area of investigation, mainly the lack of good exposure data. As larger trucks tend to drive on bigger, and therefore safer, roads, this needs to be taken into account. Some researchers have also suspected that there are systematic differences between drivers of different trucks, but the present analysis showed that this is probably a weak effect. Furthermore, it has been shown that the effects of accidents increase with increasing weight, at least up to a certain point, which makes the comparisons of accident risk sensitive to what type of accident has been investigated. Mean values of the risk ratios between long and short truck configurations were calculated from more than 20 studies, in the categories All, Injuries and Fatal. Also, separate values were computed for studies that had held the influence of road type constant in some way, and those that had not. Given that larger trucks replace a higher number of smaller ones on the roads, the differences in all categories of accidents would seem to indicate that, as a population, heavier trucks have fewer accidents, although the difference is small for Fatal. Unexpectedly, this positive traffic safety effect was more pronounced for the studies that had held road type constant. Furthermore, it was evident from the literature that although the overall effects were positive regarding truck size, larger vehicles have specific problems, which probably put them more at risk in certain environments, like towns.

Introduction: Offending drivers are often re-educated, but these courses have seldom been shown to have any safety effects. Method: An on-line improvement course for offending drivers below the age of 25 was evaluated with several driver inventories. Results: The drivers reported higher levels of aggression, stress, sensation seeking, drunk driving, and driving violations, six months after the course than before. However, these levels were lower than those of controls, indicating that the initially low levels for the education group were due to socially desirable responding, as measured by a lie scale, an effect that waned after the course. Discussion: The results can be interpreted as a positive effect of the education, although this conclusion is tentative and not in agreement with all effects in the data. Impact on industry: The results are in disagreement with previous evaluation studies using the same or similar instruments, and show the need to include controls for social desirability in self-report studies.

Problem: It has been claimed that exposure to risk of road traffic accidents (usually conceptualized as mileage) is curvilinearly associated with crashes (i.e., the increase in number of crashes decreases with increased mileage). However, this effect has been criticized as mainly an artifact of self-reported data. Method: To test the proposition that self-reported accidents create part of the curvilinearity in data by under-reporting by high-accident drivers, self-reported and recorded collisions were plotted against hours of driving for bus drivers. Results: It was found that the recorded data differed from self-reported information at the high end of exposure, and had a more linear association with the exposure measure as compared to the self-reported data, thus supporting the hypothesis. Discussion: Part of the previously reported curvilinearity between accidents and exposure is apparently due to biased methods. Also, the interpretation of curvilinearity as an effect of exposure upon accidents was criticized as unfounded, as the causality may just as well go the other way. Impact on industry: The question of how exposure associates with crash involvement is far from resolved, and everyone who uses an exposure metric (mileage, time, induced) should be careful to investigate the exact properties of their variable before using it.

Three approaches to risk perception (RP), the psychometric, the Basic Risk Perception Model, and the social amplification of risk, are evaluated using four common criteria for scientific theories. All approaches are found to meet the criterion of describing a large set of data, and for the psychometric approach and the Basic Risk Perception Model, the criterion of parsimony is fulfilled. The criteria of falsifiability and generating testable hypotheses are not met by any of these approaches. It is concluded that there is not as much theory available in RP research as could be expected at face value, if theory is defined as statements about causal mechanisms generating testable hypotheses. These three approaches instead qualifies as models (here defined as mathematical descriptions of data).

A potential source of information about spatial layout, surface slant, and self-motion is provided by transformations of the optic flow field. Theoretical analyses have demonstrated that such flow fields can be decomposed into translation, rotation, expa

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a common condition, characterized by somatic distress upon exposure to odors. As in other idiopathic environmental intolerances, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Contrary to the expectations it was recently found that persons with MCS activate the odor-processing brain regions less than controls, while their activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is increased. The present follow-up study was designed to test the hypotheses that MCS subjects have increased harm avoidance and deviations in the serotonin system, which could render them intolerant to environmental odors. Twelve MCS and 11 control subjects, age 22–44, all working or studying females, were included in a PET study where 5-HT_1A receptor binding potential (BP) was assessed after bolus injection of [¹¹C]WAY100635. Psychological profiles were assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Swedish universities Scales of Personality. All MCS and 12 control subjects were also tested for emotional startle modulation in an acoustic startle test. MCS subjects exhibited significantly increased harm avoidance, and anxiety compared to controls. They also had a reduced 5-HT_1A receptor BP in amygdala (p = 0.029), ACC (p = 0.005) (planned comparisons, significance level 0.05), and insular cortex (p = 0.003; significance level p<0.005 with Bonferroni correction), and showed an inverse correlation between degree of anxiety and the BP in the amygdala (planned comparison). No group by emotional category difference was found in the startle test. Increased harm avoidance and the observed changes in the 5-HT_1A receptor BP in the regions processing harm avoidance provides a plausible pathophysiological ground for the symptoms described in MCS, and yields valuable information for our general understanding of idiopathic environmental intolerances.

The amygdala plays a central role in processing facial affect, responding to diverse expressions and features shared between expressions. Although speculation exists regarding the nature of relationships between expression- and feature-specific amygdala reactivity, this matter has not been fully explored. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and principal component analysis (PCA) in a sample of 300 young adults, to investigate patterns related to expression- and feature-specific amygdala reactivity to faces displaying neutral, fearful, angry or surprised expressions. The PCA revealed a two-dimensional correlation structure that distinguished emotional categories. The first principal component separated neutral and surprised from fearful and angry expressions, whereas the second principal component separated neutral and angry from fearful and surprised expressions. This two-dimensional correlation structure of amygdala reactivity may represent specific feature-based cues conserved across discrete expressions. To delineate which feature-based cues characterized this pattern, face stimuli were averaged and then subtracted according to their principal component loadings. The first principal component corresponded to displacement of the eyebrows, whereas the second principal component corresponded to increased exposure of eye whites together with movement of the brow. Our results suggest a convergent representation of facial affect in the amygdala reflecting feature-based processing of discrete expressions.

Identifying brain systems that regulate or modulate autonomic nervous system functions may identify pathways through which psychosocial factors can influence health and disease. Reduced high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) characterizes anxiety disordered patients and is predictive of adverse myocardial events. Sex differences in the prevalence of anxiety disorders and cardiac diseases implicate the possibility of sex specific neural regulation of HF-HRV. We investigated the correlation between HF-HRV and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 28 subjects (15 women) with social phobia undergoing a stressful public speaking task. Regional CBF was measured with [(15)O] water positron emission tomography. Stress induced rCBF correlated positively with HF-HRV in the right supra genual anterior cingulate cortex Brodmann's area (BA) 32, the right head of the caudate nucleus and bilaterally in the medial prefrontal cortex (BA10), extending into the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA46) in the left hemisphere. Men showed larger positive co-variation in the caudate than women. These findings underscore the importance of the emotional division of the anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal cortex and the striatum in cardiovagal activity. The study replicates and extends results from published functional neuroimaging studies on cardioregulatory or modulatory areas in healthy subjects to men and women with social phobia. Moreover, caudate functions, possibly related to dopaminergic neurotransmission, have sexually dimorphic effects on vagal modulation of the heart.

In Study 1, stereotypic knowledge about the social category immigrants and its subcategories was examined and related to participants’ degree of explicit prejudice. Study 2 examined differences in implicit prejudice (negative evaluations of outgroups) as

In Study 1, we examined the knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants and the national/ethnic categories associated with immigrants among high- and low-prejudice participants (N = 230). Stereotype priming occurs when a stereotypical word (e.g., lazy

Is there a relationship between people’s personalities and their degree of prejudice? This issue was studies using a variable-centered (the most often used method) and a person-centered statistical approach (not so often applied). The variable-centered ap

In two studies we develop and validate a Classical-overt or direct-and a Modern-covert or subtle-Racial Prejudice Scale, concerning attitudes toward immigrants, for a Swedish (Scandinavian) context. Further, we examine whether these two forms of prejudice

Abstract: In two studies, aimed to examine the concept of generalized prejudice and the relationship between personality and prejudice, we found that attitudes toward various national and ethnic groups including a fictitious, an unknown, and a well-known group were significantly correlated (Study 1, N = 113). In Study 2 (N = 861), we found significant intercorrelations between four types of prejudice. More important, we made a theoretical and a statistical distinction between an abstract and a group-specific component of prejudice and found that personality variables explained a substantial proportion of the variance of the abstract part but a very small share of the group-specific component. The findings support the existence of a generalized prejudice tendency and a substantial relationship between personality and prejudice, and show that personality is related to prejudice at an abstract rather than specific level. The outcome is discussed in the light of the personality and social psychological explanations of prejudice.

Three main theoretical approaches to the study of the causation of prejudice can be distinguished within psychological research. The cognitive approach suggests that prejudice is a function of cognitive processes where stereotypic information about social groups, stored in memory, is automatically activated and affects people’s judgements and behavior toward members of the target group. The personality approach suggests that prejudice is a function of people’s personality characteristics. Finally, the social psychological approach emphasizes people’s group membership and group identification as the as major source of causation.

Previous research has almost entirely focused on only one approach of causation at a time. The focus has also shifted periodically – with attention paid to one approach at each period of time. The present thesis is an attempt to integrate these approaches and suggests an integrative model where the relative contribution of each approach could be assessed. The underlying assumption is that all three approaches are meaningful and that prejudice is a complex phenomenon that is best explained by taking into account all approaches jointly.

Examining the cognitive approach, Paper I revealed that people are knowledgeable of the cultural stereotypes and that stereotypic information is automatically activated and affects people’s judgments. Paper II (and Paper III) supported the personality approach and revealed that prejudice is highly related to primary personality characteristics and, in line with a central idea in this approach, different types of prejudice (ethnic prejudice, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice toward disabled people) are highly correlated. The results of Paper III revealed the importance of group membership and group identification, supporting the social psychology approach.

The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and the necessity to integrate various approaches and disciplines to explain psychological phenomena in general and prejudice in particular. Also, implications of the findings for prejudice prevention are discussed.

In Study 1 (N = 230), we found that the participants’ explicit prejudice was not related to their knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants in Sweden, and that they associated the social category immigrants with the same national/ethnic categories. In Study 2 (N = 88), employing the category and stereotype words obtained in Study 1 as primes, we examined whether participants with varying degrees of explicit prejudice differed in their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice when primed with category or stereotypical words. In accord with our hypothesis, and contrary to previous findings, the results showed that people’s explicit prejudice did not affect their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice, neither in the category nor stereotype activation condition. Study 3 (N = 62), employing category priming using facial photographs of Swedes and Immigrants as primes, showed that participants’ implicit prejudice was not moderated by their explicit prejudice. The outcome is discussed in relation to previous research, the distinction between category and stereotype activation, and in terms of the associative strength between a social category and its related stereotypes.

Previous research has, almost only, examined prejudice from either a personality or a social psychology perspective with results favoring the one or the other. In five correlational or experimental studies (N = 379, 182, 80, 139, and 148, respectively), the present paper integrates these perspectives. Specifically, we examine whether personality (Big-Five factors, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism), or social psychology (group membership, group identification, and contextual factors), or an integration of both is the best way of explaining prejudice. Results from causal modeling and multiple regression analyses showed that a joint personality and social psychology model outperformed the personality-only and the social-psychology-only models. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating various approaches and disciplines to explain psychological phenomena in general and prejudice in particular.

In the present study (N = 156) we examined the relation between participants’ responses and response latencies to the Big Five personality inventory. Extending previous research, we examined whether the relation between participants’ response latencies (regarded as self-schema indicators) for items of a specific personality trait and their position on that trait is characterised by a linear or curvilinear (quadratic, cubic) trend. Polynomial regression analyses showed consistent support for a quadratic (curvilinear) relation between participants’ positions on the personality traits and their response latencies. Participants scoring high or low on a trait responded faster than those scoring around the mean. This pattern of results lends support to the notion that the relation between personality trait levels and response latencies is characterised by an inverted-U effect. The results are discussed in the light of previous research employing other approaches to examining the self-schema evidence. Further, the potential of using response latency (self-schema) data to improve precision in personality assessment and prediction is discussed.

The present paper focuses on the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudice. In Study 1, examining the relation between Big-Five basic personality and generalised prejudice (a factor based on ethnic prejudice, sexism, homophobia, and negative attitudes to mentally disabled people), we found Openness to experience and Agreeableness to be the only basic personality variables to be related to generalised prejudice. In Study 2, in addition to basic personality and generalised prejudice we included Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and examined various causal models of the relationships among these variables. The best-fitting causal model showed that basic personality had no direct effect on generalised prejudice but an indirect effect transmitted through RWA and SDO. Study 3 examined whether prejudice (sexism) is better explained by personality variables (Big-Five, SDO, and RWA) or social group membership (gender). Based on the outcome of Study 2, causal models were proposed and tested. The results showed that the best causal model to explain prejudice was the one that included the personality as well as social group membership variables. This outcome, also supported by multiple regression analyses, suggests that an integration of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudicial beliefs would be the best option. The findings in the three studies are discussed against the background of recent research based on the personality and social psychology approaches to the study of prejudice.

This paper focuses on the personality and social psychology approaches to explaining prejudice. We examined whether prejudice (sexism) is better explained by personality (Big-Five factors, Social dominance orientation, and Right-wing authoritarianism) or social group membership (gender). Based on our previous research, alternative causal models were compared. The results showed that the best-fitting causal model to explain prejudice was the one that included the personality as well as social group membership variables. This outcome, also supported by multiple regression analyses, suggests that an integration of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudicial beliefs would be the best option.

Extending previous research on the relation of Big-Five personality with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, we examined the relationships of Big Five facet scores rather than factor scores. The results (N = 332) of stepwise regression analyses showed that Openness to Experience was the only significant predictor of RWA on factor level, whereas Values and Ideas were significant predictors on facet level. A similar analysis of SDO showed that Agreeableness and Openness to Experience contributed significantly to the prediction on factor level, whereas Tender-Mindedness and Values were the best significant predictors on facet level. The prediction based on facet scores showed to be more accurate that the prediction based on factor scores. A random split of the sample confirmed the robustness of the findings. The results are discussed against the background of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining individual differences in prejudice.

In Study 1 (N = 230), we found that the participants' explicit prejudice was not related to their knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants in Sweden, and that they associated the social category immigrants with the same national/ethnic categories. In Study 2 (N= 88), employing the category and stereotype words obtained in Study 1 as primes, we examined whether participants with varying degrees of explicit prejudice differed in their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice when primed with category or stereotypical words. In accord with our hypothesis, and contrary to previous findings, the results showed that people's explicit prejudice did not affect their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice, neither in the category nor stereotype priming condition. Study 3 (N = 62), employing category priming using facial photographs of Swedes and immigrants as primes, showed that participants' implicit prejudice was not moderated by their explicit prejudice. The outcome is discussed in relation to the distinction between category and stereotype priming and in terms of the associative strength between a social category and its related stereotypes.

In two experimental studies, we created situational conditions (social norm and social threat) that altered the level of expressed prejudice in two different directions (decrease or increase). Then, we examined the stability of the relation between personality and prejudice across conditions and found that personality variables were related to prejudice in a similar way regardless of variations in prejudice level and situations. Thus, whereas situational factors affect the level of people's prejudice, personality factors stand for the rank-order stability of prejudice. The outcome is discussed in relation to the current debate on whether prejudice is best explained by personality or situational factors.

In two studies, we examine whether attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities, like sexism and racism, consist of two forms – a classical and a modern, where the classical is overt and blatant and the modern is more subtle and covert. Self-report scales tapping these two forms were developed in Study 1. Based on confirmatory factor analyses, the results in Study 1 supported our hypothesis and revealed that the modern and classical forms are correlated but distinguishable. This outcome was replicated in Study 2. Construct and discriminatory validations of the scales provided further support for the distinction. The theoretical and practical importance of the results is discussed in relation to previous research on attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities and other social outgroups.

Previous research has almost exclusively examined sexism (negative attitudes toward women) from either a personality or a social-psychology perspective. In two studies (N = 379 and 182, respectively), we combine these perspectives and examine whether sexism is best explained by personality (Big-Five factors, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism) or by social-psychological (group membership and group identification) variables - or by a combination of both approaches. Causal modeling and multiple regression analyses showed that, with the present set of variables, sexism was best explained by considering the combined influence of both personality- and social-psychology constructs. The findings imply that it is necessary to integrate various approaches to explain prejudice.

In two studies, we examined the relationship between participants’ responses to the items in the NEO-PI Big Five personality inventory and their response latencies to the same items. Extending previous research, we used polynomial regression analysis to examine if the relation between participants’ position on each of the Big Five factors and their average response latencies (regarded as self-schema indicators) across items on the same factors is characterised by a curvilinear (inverted-U) trend or not. The analyses in both studies yielded consistent support for a quadratic (curvilinear) relation between personality scores and response latencies for all Big Five factors. Those scoring high or low on a factor responded faster than those scoring around the mean, which lends support to the notion that the relation between personality scores and response latencies is characterised by an inverted-U effect. The results are discussed in the light of previousattempts to examining the inverted-U effect as self-schema evidence. Further, we discuss the potential of using response latency data to improve precision in personality assessment and prediction.

Experiencing conflictual relations with one's parents while growing up has been linked to onset, recurrence, and worse treatment outcome of adolescent depression. While this suggests that significant problems in the parent-youth relationship make depressive disorders more relentless, it is not clear whether this effect lasts into adulthood. Our aim was to examine if major and minor conflict with parents while growing up predicts depression in adulthood in youth with and without a history of depression. We utilized data from the Uppsala Longitudinal Adolescent Depression Study. This community-based cohort was assessed with structured diagnostic interviews both at age 16-17 and at follow-up 15 years later. The analyses included 382 individuals (227 with a history of child or adolescent depression; 155 peers without such a history). Binary logistic regression was used, adjusting for sex, disruptive behavior disorders, and additional family-related adversities. Among individuals with adolescent depression, major conflict with parents was strongly associated with adult depression (adjusted OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.07-4.87). While major conflict with parents was rare among non-depressed controls, a non-significant association of similar magnitude was still observed. Minor conflict, on the other hand, was not significantly associated with adult depression. Overall, conflict with parents did not predict adult anxiety disorders, substance use, suicidal behavior, somatoform disorders, or psychotic disorders. In conclusion, major parent-youth conflict during upbringing seems to be linked with an increased risk of depression in adulthood. These findings underscore the need to consider contextual/familial factors in the prevention and clinical management of early-life depression.

In a longitudinal study, 14 mentally ill women were compared to a sample of 24 somatically ill women. Both samples were admitted to hospital within six months after delivery. Further, 76 healthy women were included as controls. Infants in the psychiatric

In a longitudinal study, children of 14 mentally ill women, admitted to hospital within six months after delivery, were compared to children of 23 women who had been somatically ill postpartum, and to a matched sample of children of 22 healthy women. Also

In a longitudinal study 14 mentally ill women were compared with a control sample of 24 somatically ill women. Both samples were admitted to the hospital within 6 months after delivery. Another control sample of 76 healthy women was included in the study