Territoriality Of Leaving Drivers Essay

Abstract
Two experiments show the territoriality of leaving drivers when children and intrusion are a factor. In Experiment 1, 48 observations were made in a parking lot to measure how long a leaving driver would take to pull out of their parking when there was a waiting driver and no waiting driver. Leaving drivers seemed to leave faster when they were intruded upon. Experiment 1 also measured how long it would take for a departing car with children present to pull out a parking space when there is intrusion and no intrusion. Drivers who had children present would be slower to leave a parking space, indicating they are more territorial. In Experiment 2, a questionnaire was verbally administered to 40 nonrandom, anonymous participants and 3 questions tested negativity of participants, 1 question asked estimated departure times of departing drivers and 1 closed ended question included the independent variable. Participants said they would feel more negative and leave a parking space faster when there is a car waiting. Participants with children revealed that they would be more cautious, and therefore, express stronger
When looking at the average time it would take for an individual to leave a parking space, results from Table 2 reveal that participants who were not intruded upon would take longer to leave their parking space (M=63.7s) than when they are intruded upon. Also results indicate that participants who had children in their vehicle would be more territorial in leaving a parking space (M=6.0) as they would be slower to leave and a strong sense of territoriality explained in the results shows that leaving drivers who had children in the car would be more cautious if there was a car