A Study of Dichotomous Thought Processes in Accident-prone Drivers

¹ Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, c/o School of Psychiatry, Prince Henry Hospital, Little Bay, New South Wales, 2036, Australia

It was hypothesized that Shneidman's theory of dichotomous thinking could be a framework model within which the causes of frequent motor vehicle accidents may be seen to operate. To test for this possibility, two groups, each of 30 subjects, were tested. The experimental group contained those subjects deemed, according to the particular criteria used, to have been involved in motor car accidents frequently. The control group contained subjects who had had only very infrequent accidents. Dichotomous thinking was measured by the Semantic Differential. It was found that members of the experimental group utilized the all-or-none type of thinking to a significantly greater extent than did the controls.

Mention has been made of the action-prone theory of accident causation. It was suggested that dichotomous thinking made subjects want to end the suspense of decision-making by choosing one or the other course of action represented by the ends of a continuum.

In this study no clear cut evidence was found for the oft-suggested relationship between suicidal ideation and motor vehicle accidents. However, if action-proneness is used as a criterion then a significant relationship is seen to exist between it and the incidence of such accidents.