Affective Processes in Transport Safety: A Psychological Perspective

Emotions occupy a pivotal yet insufficiently explored role in transport safety. While previous research has predominantly concentrated on cognitive, environmental, and demographic factors associated with risky behavior, recent advancements in affective science and in-vehicle technologies underscore the significant impact of emotional states on attention, risk perception, decision-making, and social interactions across various modes of transport. This collection aims to investigate the influence of emotions on transport safety, with a particular emphasis on the psychological, situational, and social mechanisms through which emotional states affect risk perception, decision-making, and behavior across diverse transport modes. We invite contributions that examine how emotional states (e.g., anger, anxiety, frustration, sadness, positive affect) affect attention, risk-taking, hazard perception, moral and prosocial behavior, compliance with traffic regulations, fatigue, and performance in both routine and critical situations.This Research Topic seeks to enhance the understanding of the role emotional processes play in shaping safety-critical behaviors across various transport settings. While it is established that emotions influence attention, risk perception, and decision-making, their integration into mainstream traffic and transport psychology and safety research remains limited. This gap may hinder the development of effective behavioral interventions, technological solutions, and policy frameworks that consider the dynamic nature of emotional states. Recent methodological advancements, such as immersive driving simulators, naturalistic driving data, psychophysiological monitoring, wearable sensors, and in-vehicle technologies, offer new opportunities to study emotions with greater ecological validity. By assembling interdisciplinary contributions, this collection aims to synthesize emerging evidence, refine theoretical models, and identify practical pathways for enhancing safety outcomes through targeted emotion-focused approaches. Ultimately, the collection aspires to build a more comprehensive understanding of how emotions influence behavior across transport modes and to inform the design of safer, more adaptive mobility systems.We invite scholarly contributions that examine the influence of emotional processes on safety-related behavior across various modes of transportation, including road, rail, and aviation, as well as among diverse road users such as drivers, cyclists, passengers, micro mobility users, and public transport users. We particularly encourage submissions that address themes such as emotional states, affective influences on attention and hazard awareness, emotion-driven decision-making, novel measurement and intervention methodologies, and the impact of situational and social contexts. Studies employing innovative methods, such as artificial intelligence, driving simulators, naturalistic data, psychophysiology, wearable sensors, or affect-aware vehicle technologies, are especially welcome. We seek papers that advance the understanding of affective mechanisms in transport safety and support the development of emotion-informed interventions and policies. Topic editors: Ibrahim Ozturk, Federica Biassoni, Gunilla Björklund, Amanda Stephens, Mette Møller Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79100/affective-processes-in-transport-safety-a-psychological-perspective