[grimlock]

According to Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a professor of psychology at California State University Los Angeles and an expert on the Dr. Oz show, narcissism can play a role in escalating road rage.

"I truly believe that in a very large proportion of cases, it is narcissism at play — and in the absence of being able to say excuse me when drivers are in two separate cars — narcissists have a tendency to over-personalize the road incident and tend to have poorly regulated anger, and also tend to be a little paranoid — that plus the entitlement of narcissism can result in strong and inappropriate shows of anger and rage," Durvasula said, speaking on the general topic of road rage. "Obviously the subset of people who are sociopathic are vulnerable to similar reactions and may even be more dangerous as they are less likely to feel remorse and may welcome the fight, even dangerously so."

For anyone that finds themselves experiencing road rage, O'Dwyer said sometimes the best thing to do is get the other driver out of your line of sight by slowing down, turning onto a different route or safely passing the other driver.

"The driver stays in our field of vision," O'Dwyer said. "So, if someone makes us angry we can't sort of turn away ... just sitting there and staring at them just feeds our anger."

The comments section:
http://www.lisaescott.com/forum/2010...ists-road-rage

Good theory or bad theory?

[Nkc]

What is it this time Grimmy?

[grimlock]

Originally Posted by Nkc

What is it this time Grimmy?

I dunno. Have you ever experienced getting randomly attacked while driving your Z4 or any other flashy car? I am just trying to make sense why I seem to provoke random acts of road violence.. mainly from behind as well - lol, when they have seen me.
I imagine BMWs or even more flashy cars would invite alot of attacks.. or it may due to driving style as well.

[Billup]

Narcissism is more a root cause of divorce and murdered spouses I would imagine.

[squishy]

It's a general personality trait, or tendency, that can be crudely connected with many events, one of them being road rage. Don't see what the big deal is.

[Maestro]

They only thing worse than Tabloid Reporter is a TV Dr. Any DR worth their salt is not going to spend any time on TV. These people are just like the snake oil salesman of yesteryears they not selling you a product just their stupid opinions.

Road Rage is causes by stupid drives, people who should have never been giving a licenses in the first place and they just piss off the rest of us it. Or it is the next result of when stupid encounters stupid. it going to explode. There are very few people who are narcissic, if they were they would be doing other things which were narcissis and would have other issues besides road rage.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by grimlock

I dunno. Have you ever experienced getting randomly attacked while driving your Z4 or any other flashy car? I am just trying to make sense why I seem to provoke random acts of road violence.. mainly from behind as well - lol, when they have seen me.
I imagine BMWs or even more flashy cars would invite alot of attacks.. or it may due to driving style as well.

Nope, I'm the one who knocks.

This type of harassment usually comes when I'm driving my low profile beaters.

[kevinbahnz]

Originally Posted by grimlock

I dunno. Have you ever experienced getting randomly attacked while driving your Z4 or any other flashy car? I am just trying to make sense why I seem to provoke random acts of road violence.. mainly from behind as well - lol, when they have seen me.
I imagine BMWs or even more flashy cars would invite alot of attacks.. or it may due to driving style as well.

Maybe they think you can't drive because they've seen you. You know what they say about asian drivers.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

Maybe they think you can't drive because they've seen you. You know what they say about asian drivers.

LOL, this stereotype is kinda hard in a city that's 100% asian drivers.

[kevinbahnz]

Originally Posted by Nkc

LOL, this stereotype is kinda hard in a city that's 100% asian drivers.

lolz, i forgot he's in HK. Damm a city full of ppl who cant drive, YIKES!!

[squishy]

Originally Posted by Nkc

LOL, this stereotype is kinda hard in a city that's 100% asian drivers.

[grimlock]

Originally Posted by Billup

Narcissism is more a root cause of divorce and murdered spouses I would imagine.

You sound knowledgeable on this topic..

Originally Posted by squishy

It's a general personality trait, or tendency, that can be crudely connected with many events, one of them being road rage. Don't see what the big deal is.

Nothing. I am just wondering is it me, does it happen to everyone, and is it some kind of personality problem they have or I can't possibly be SO annoying a driver can I?

Originally Posted by Maestro

They only thing worse than Tabloid Reporter is a TV Dr. Any DR worth their salt is not going to spend any time on TV. These people are just like the snake oil salesman of yesteryears they not selling you a product just their stupid opinions.

Road Rage is causes by stupid drives, people who should have never been giving a licenses in the first place and they just piss off the rest of us it. Or it is the next result of when stupid encounters stupid. it going to explode. There are very few people who are narcissic, if they were they would be doing other things which were narcissis and would have other issues besides road rage.

They would.. I imagine these are the smaller things they do.. but you could still feel them even though your contact with them is fleeting. I swear my parking neighbour is one.. but guess I'm lucky he seems to have a bigger problem with the guy on the other side of him

Originally Posted by kevinbahnz

Maybe they think you can't drive because they've seen you. You know what they say about asian drivers.

I know. I swear is like something about the sight of me personally sets of some of these people.. haterz lol
Basically it's like a narcissist thinks they own the road, so if you don't drive like they are the center of attention they will rage at you. I think this is why I was pelted with a water bottle in a drop top once... i wasn't anywhere NEAR this guy in his old beater benz

[MYovichZ4]

Originally Posted by grimlock

I dunno. Have you ever experienced getting randomly attacked while driving your Z4 or any other flashy car? I am just trying to make sense why I seem to provoke random acts of road violence.. mainly from behind as well - lol, when they have seen me.
I imagine BMWs or even more flashy cars would invite alot of attacks.. or it may due to driving style as well.

I haven't experienced any acts of road violence, but I do notice that when I'm in the Z4 other drivers to seem to try to match speed and driving with me frequently. I'm not sure if it's the car or the fact of another driver going faster. But I don't seem to notice it as often in the DD or any other vehicle.

[2012bmw7]

Signs of a Narcissist

No Empathy
Sense of entitlement
Excessive exaggeration
Needs excessive attention
Preoccupied with fantasies
Doesn’t Reciprocate
Possessive and controlling
Always about the narcissist during sex
They're likable -- at least, at first glance.
Not all narcissists are loud and proud. In fact, some are quiet and shy
They can often be found in leadership roles
They always manage to make the conversation about themselves
They're also guilty of name-dropping
Not every story a narcissist tells is one of victory. But even in the stories of tragedy or failure, there's an air of entitlement and victimization.
They like nice things
Excuses are a narcissist's best friend
They are strongly averse to criticism.
Fear of Intimacy
A narcissistic person probably has no idea he or she is a narcissist.
They leave a trail of wreckage behind them at work and in relationships
In relationships, they may have infidelity, which destroys that relationship, and then they'll move on to another one
Extreme narcissists tend to be persons who move towards eventually cutting others off and becoming emotionally isolated
Men are more likely to be narcissists than women.

[NEFARIOUS]

Hmm... I get road rage and have a bad temper, but only about 4-5 things about narcissism above really fits me... Hell, the times that I get road rage the worst is when I'm feeling a bit of self-loathing.

[grimlock]

[6MT_Addict]

I get frustrated with a lot of drivers here that are just oblivious to the other vehicles/road conditions/signage. When the snow falls in my city, the running joke is that everyone forgets how to drive. In early December I was stuck behind a vehicle doing 20-30km/h in an 80 zone with no visible area to pass due to very frequent small hills (like every 75-100 meters) Honestly that's just asking get rear ended on a highway by a vehicle clearing a hill with zero visibility of the valley until it's too late...

As for road rage/violence... I'll cuss a lot to myself at people who really should not have their license but nothing more. Haven't experienced anything worse than being flipped off for lane changing into a tight spot to take an exit in busy traffic. Knock on wood anyway.