The impact of Primacy/Recency Effects and Hazard Monitoring on attributions of other drivers

• 114 women and 96 men viewed a simulated near collision either earlier or later in their exposure.
• They were asked to provide ratings of the offending driver (dangerous, risky, safe, skilled, performance).
• Primacy/Recency Effects were examined along with Hazard Monitoring tendencies.
• Results showed a Primacy Effect which was moderated at times by Hazard Monitoring.
• Judgments of other drivers are quick and based on early information, but impacted by personal factors.

The present study examined the impact of Primacy/Recency Effects and Hazard Monitoring on driver attributions. Participants viewed a simulated near collision from the perspective of a trailing motorist. The amount of error free driving prior to the near collision varied between two groups, where the near incident occurred either early or later in their viewing experience. They were then given the opportunity to provide judgments of the offending driver based on how safe, dangerous, risky, and skilled the driver was in general, and to evaluate their overall performance. Results showed a Primacy Effect dominance in that judgments of the driver were most negative in the early group, but this was moderated by high Hazard Monitoring for ratings of “dangerous” and “safe”. This suggests that judgments of other drivers are likely to be quick and based on early information, but are impacted by personal factors such as a tendency to monitor for hazards.