Emotional and cognitive responses experienced by drivers or pedestrians when interacting with the road environment, including feelings such as anger, anxiety, stress, joy, or boredom. These emotions play a critical role in managing perception, controlling attention, speeding up information processing, and making decisions, thereby directly affecting the safety of the driver and other road users. Types of emotions and their impact on driving behavior:
1) Positive emotions: for example, the feeling of satisfaction from smooth off-road driving or the joy of overcoming a difficult situation, improve concentration, reaction speed and support overall cognitive activity while driving. These emotions contribute to increased cognitive flexibility and selective attention, which reduces the number of mistakes on the road.
2) Negative emotions: For example, anger over traffic jams, reckless overtaking of another driver, or stress caused by delays can lead to aggressive behavior on the road, increased risk, or non-compliance with traffic rules. These emotions negatively affect risk assessment, selective attention, and the ability to make rational decisions, thereby increasing the likelihood of accidents.