Influence mechanism of the urban traffic climate on prosocial driving behavior: The combined role of rational, affective and moral factors

In the research field of safe driving behavior, the emergence of prosocial driving research complements the more traditional dangerous driving research. In recent years, studies on the relationship between the urban traffic climate and prosocial driving have even been taken as a new direction for further improving urban traffic safety based on the construction of traffic safety facilities and the development of traffic safety regulations. The mechanism by which urban traffic climate affects prosocial driving is explored in this study. From a dual research perspective, i.e., a variable-centered and person-centered perspective, a theoretical model of prosocial driving is constructed based on the following three levels: environmental, psychological and behavioral. According to the results, First, rational, affective and moral factors at the individual psychological level play mediating roles between urban traffic climate at the environmental level and prosocial driving behavior at the behavioral level. As indicated by the results of a mediating pathway analysis, rational, affective and moral factors are intricately linked by five complex mediating paths at the psychological level. Second, there is a differentiated environmental-psychological activation mechanism between individuals' prosocial driving and aggressive driving. Third, urban traffic climate consists of a variety of typical safety climate types, and individuals have diverse psychological tendencies regarding safe driving in traffic climates of varying safety levels. The study concludes with a systematic discussion of its theoretical contributions and practical value.