Young females' attention toward road safety images: An ERP study of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory

<p><b>Objective</b>: This study examined whether reward and punishment sensitivities, as conceptualized by Gray and McNaughton's revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST), influenced young female drivers' attention toward a series of positive and negative antispeeding advertisement images. Young females' increasing crash risk is associated with their engagement in risky behaviors, which, in turn, has been associated with a stronger behavioral approach system (BAS; sensitive to rewards). It was predicted that individuals with a stronger BAS would elicit larger N100 and N200 mean amplitudes (reflecting greater attention) toward the positive images. Similar associations were predicted in relation to the fight–flight–freeze system (FFFS; sensitive to punishments) for negative images.</p> <p><b>Method</b>: Twenty-four female drivers (17–25 years; final <i>N</i> = 16) completed Corr-Cooper's RST-Personality Questionnaire, prior to undergoing an event-related potential computerized visual task (i.e., oddball paradigm) that included positive, negative, and neutral images as targets against checkerboard image distractors.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: Contrary to expectations, individuals with a stronger BAS (Reward Reactivity and Impulsivity) demonstrated significantly larger N200 mean amplitudes at the Cz electrode site on presentation of the <i>negative</i> images than those with a weaker BAS. No other significant RST effects were found.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b>: These findings provide some preliminary objective support for the use of negative emotion-based road safety advertisements for young females. Further, this study provides support for using psychophysiological measures to enhance understanding of traffic injury persuasion.