The personality profile of Zululand taxi drivers

• Main Author: Ntuli, Velaphi Herbert
• Format: Others
• Published: University of Zululand 2018
• Subjects: unruly behaviour > taxi drivers > personalities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1707

A mini dissertation submitted to the Faculty Of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Arts in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, 2017 === The purpose of this study was to identify whether there is a contributory relationship between the common unwanted behaviour of taxi drivers towards taxi commuters and the taxi drivers’ personality. The study involved 59 minibus taxi drivers sampled from the Empangeni and Richards Bay areas of the Zululand district. The participants were randomly selected in their respective taxi ranks/stations around the above mentioned areas. The Big Five 10-Item Personality Inventory and a tailored questionnaire were administered in an interview format. The findings depicted that the unacceptable behaviour usually portrayed by taxi drivers towards taxi commuters is not caused by the taxi drivers’ personality. They further illustrate that the nature of the profession, which induces pressure on the driver, is one of the main causes of the behaviour. The taxi commuters were reported to be largely the ones who cause most of the conflicts that arise between drivers and passengers. The more experience (in years) the driver had in the taxi driving job the more acceptable and non-provoking his style of interacting with taxi commuters becomes. The reciprocal determinism theory was used to psychologically conceptualise the outcome behaviour of the taxi driver taking into strong consideration his personal cognitive choices, emotions, past experiences and his environment in the work place.