Expressive Self-Testing in Driving

Abstract

The automobile is a cultural trait diagnostic of a cultural pattern which is so important and pervasive in contemporary American life that it may well be one of the foci of the total culture. This driving pattern has long merited more anthropological attention than it has received. The exploratory study described here, however, deals only with a limited aspect of the general pattern, namely expressive self-testing in driving, on the basis of a single community survey. Still, it shows that familiar behaviors and attitudes can be viewed in a new way and that an anthropological approach constitutes a promising avenue to a deeper understanding of driving.