In Traffic psychology, the stimuli would include other drivers on the road, pedestrians, passengers, and anything else in the environment. Because behavior is learned, or conditioned, we can extinguish unpleasant behaviors through counter conditioning. Everytime he drove without swearing, he rewarded himself with a quarter, and if he did swear, his girlfriend would take a quarter away from him. Dr. James talked about the role of cognitive behavior. By being rational, using logic, and making correct judgments, we are employing cognitive skill.
Cognitive theory is essential in traffic psychology.
When you are aware of yourself, you produce new knowledge about yourself, and thus, new reactions. If I were to apply this theory to my driving behaviors, I could logically tell myself that if I don't pay attention, I could end up hurting someone, and when I do pay attention, rather than being nervous, I can be rational about my fears. This way I could be more careful and alert. I felt that I received enough information from other students to feel confident that I can start my own driving personality makeover plan and succeed. The students' success gave me hope that I, too, could succeed.