Victoria Eng

Science Research 8º
Stop Sign Behavior
Literature Review

In their article The Effects of Prompting and Feedback on Drivers' Stopping at

Stop Signs (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2006 pg. 117-121), John Austin,
Stacey Hackett, Nicole Gravina, and Angela Lebbon have conducted an experiment on
complete stops at a high-traffic intersection on a public university campus with a
prompting and consequence intervention. “More than 50% of the fatal crashes that
occurred at intersections in 2002 in one midwestern state took place at stop signs”
(UMTRI Transportation Safety Analysis Division Transportation Data Center, 2002). For
this experiment, three different components were observed: complete stops made at the
stop sign (all tires visible to observers stopped rotating), turn-signal use (turn signal was
used for at lease one blink, and safety belt use (recorded by observing if a shoulder belt
was in use).

A baseline condition and sign-flashing intervention were alternated in a

randomized order on several different days. The intervention was a sign that read,
“Please Stop—I Care” and “Thank You For Stopping” on the reverse side. If a driver
made a complete stop at Stop A, the person holding the sign would show them the
reverse side. Drivers at Stop B could only see the presence of a person standing by the
stop sign on the opposite side of the road. The experiment was a success; the
percentage of drivers stopped more with the baseline numbers and the sign visible than
those who couldn’t see the sign. “The intervention represents a starting point in the
management of motorist stopping behavior.” This intervention is an effective strategy to
increase complete stops made at stop signs and positively received.

Compliance With Legal Regulations: Observation of Stop Sign Behavior, an article

written by Johannes Feest, details the psychology behavior with formal laws of the road.
Some argue that formal law can become an agent of social control. The concept of
compliance has three essential elements: norm-awareness, intention to conform, and
conforming behavior. The laws of stop signs in California tell the driver to bring his or her
car to a “full stop back of the limit line.” How one conforms to the law is an indicator of
their compliance. Although the stop sign regulations are clear, there may be differential
perceptions or interpretations as to what the norm prescribes.

The generalization that "the majority of persons conform to the prescribed standard
and that small deviations are more frequent than large deviations. This generalization
appears to hold true for many kinds of social behavior." The conformity figures will rise
and fall with the amount of cross traffic. The type of crossing makes a difference only
when the car is not brought to a full stop. Accompanied drivers are consistently more
norm-abiding than unaccompanied ones. The types of situations/visible observations
tested were: type of traffic included, three-way stops, day/night, accompanied/single,
race, SES, gender, and age. Law enforcement has an obligation to regulate the laws.
Many factors affect the norm of stopping at stop signs to an extent that people are
running stop signs completely.
 A third article, Effects of Night, Passengers, and Sex on Driver Behavior at Stop
Signs, written by Stuart J. McKelvie explores the behavior of drivers based on time of
day, amount of passengers, and gender at stop signs. “Despite the legal requirement
that drivers come to a complete halt at stop signs, overall compliance generally falls
between 35% and 50%.” Rather than obeying the law, drivers seem to evaluate the risk
of violation and then to act accordingly. The main purpose of the next investigation was
to reinvestigate Feest’s results under both traffic conditions, with similar sample sizes
during the day and night and an attempt were made to control for traffic density.

Another test was taken with a total of 600 observations; the variables affect the
stopping behavior according to gender, single/accompanied, and day/night. They wanted
to replicate Feest’s observations, finding that stopping behavior differed between day
and night for single drivers in the absence of other traffic. Males have been found to be
more reckless than females in a variety of driver behaviors. The present study indicated
that oncoming traffic significantly increased obedience to the law. The downside: less
than half obeyed the law when no other traffic was around. The presence of passengers
did not exaggerate the sex affect; males might particularly endanger their night
company.

Jessica Taylor evaluates the sign-flashing intervention created by John Austin,

Stacey Hackett, Nicole Gravina, and Angela Lebbon. The plan increased stopping at
13.6% of drivers prior to the plan to 52% while the volunteer was holding the poster. The
mere presence of volunteer sign-holders increased the control from 6% to 28%. Some
people may have already driven through the intersection to know to make a complete
stop. If a simple "Please" and “Thank you” can influence drivers to make a complete
stop, and thereby decrease automobile accidents, more communities should try this to
bring more awareness to the consequences of reckless driving.
 References

Austin, John, Stacey Hackett, Nicole Gravina, and Angela Lebbon. "The Effects of
Prompting and Feedback on Drivers' Stopping at Stop Signs." Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis 39.1 (2006): 117-121. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

Feest, Johannes. "Compliance with Legal Regulations: Observation of Stop Sign

Behavior." Law and Society Association 2.3 (1968): 447-62. JSTOR. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

McKelvie, Stuart J. "Effects of Night, Passengers, and Sex on Driver Behavior at Stop
Signs." Journal of Social Psychology 128.5 (1988): 685-90. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 Oct.
2010.

Taylor, Jessica. ""Please" and "Thank You" Increase Stopping at Stop Signs." Behavior
Analysis Digest 18.2 (2006): 7. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.