A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not
see cyclists as human, with those riding bicycles while wearing helmets
or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.
The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland
University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and
was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.
Noting that efforts to increase cycling uptake are hindered by negative attitudes towards cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these dehumanising perceptions.
Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered cyclists less than fully human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and
other safety clothing may affect the way cyclists are viewed.
"We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired
alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
"We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We found images of cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher probability of being selected as less human compared to images of
cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."
Cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those
without, while cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.
The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible
safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.
On the same lines, cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than those wearing a full helmet.
"Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that cyclists
wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be
dehumanised more so than cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
"As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and
aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such
as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this
group of vulnerable road users."
https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661
A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not see chav-cyclists as human, with those riding chav-bicycles while wearing helmets or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.perceptions.
The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.
Noting that efforts to increase chav-cycling uptake are hindered by negative attitudes towards chav-cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on chav-cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these dehumanising
Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered chav-cyclists less than fully human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and other safety clothing may affect the way chav-cyclists are viewed.equipment. The results have implications for research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."
"We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
"We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We found images of chav-cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher probability of being selected as less human compared to images of chav-cyclists wearing no safety
Chav-cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those without, while chav-cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.designed for safety, they may inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this group of vulnerable road users."
The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.On the same lines, chav-cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than those wearing a full helmet.
"Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that chav-cyclists wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be dehumanised more so than chav-cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
"As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such as high-visibility vests; although
https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661
Yeah, it's definitely a deep down instinct that probably comes from our territorial primate background.
What we (as a society) should be doing is recognising this tendency and attempting to defuse it by always incorporating the human element where possible. This is why reporting on RTCs should mention the driver rather
than the vehicle and we should definitely avoid language that lumps
people together in a derisory way (e.g. referring to illegal refugees
rather than people seeking asylum from brutal regimes).
Yeah, it's definitely a deep down instinct that probably comes from our territorial primate background.
What we (as a society) should be doing is recognising this tendency and attempting to defuse it by always incorporating the human element where possible.
What I intended to say, was: was this study carried out in the same
Australia which made helmets mandatory? I wonder what the authorities
have to say about it...
What seems to be missing from this work is the question of what cyclists
are doing to engender such a poor view of them by other road users.
Perhaps an overbearing and aggressive self-entitled attitude, combined with poor roadcraft, an unrealistic expectation that everyone else, including
the most vulnerable road users, must look after them, and naked displays of casual law-breaking, might have something to do with it.
I wonder who will fund such research, as cyclists certainly won’t.
swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not
see cyclists as human, with those riding bicycles while wearing helmets
or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.
The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland
University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and
was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic
Psychology and Behaviour.
Noting that efforts to increase cycling uptake are hindered by negative
attitudes towards cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on
cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these
dehumanising perceptions.
Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered cyclists less than fully
human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and
other safety clothing may affect the way cyclists are viewed.
"We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired
alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist
respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
"We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We
found images of cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher
probability of being selected as less human compared to images of
cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for
research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."
Cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those
without, while cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.
The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible
safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of
dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.
On the same lines, cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than
those wearing a full helmet.
"Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that cyclists
wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be
dehumanised more so than cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
"As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and
aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a
potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such
as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may
inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this
group of vulnerable road users."
https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661 >>
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 499 |
| Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
| Uptime: | 31:46:56 |
| Calls: | 9,832 |
| Calls today: | 2 |
| Files: | 13,761 |
| Messages: | 6,192,619 |