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2016-05-12 03:52:55
May 11th 2016, 12:05 by A.W. | WASHINGTON, DC
MOST instances of road rage come about in the same way. Drivers are frustrated with other drivers who, in one way or another, impede their ability to get where they re going as quickly as they d like. Air rage can t really follow the same pattern, since passengers on a plane have no control over the speed with which they ll reach their destination. Instead, it stems from a variety of sources, including poor service, discomfort and flight delays.
But one of the most common sources of air rage has nothing to do with negative experiences on board a plane. Quite the opposite. According to a new study, passengers are far more prone to misbehaviour if they see that other passengers are having a better experience.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the study finds that passengers in economy class are 3.8 times more likely to become unruly if the plane also contains a first-class section. If those passengers have to walk through first class to get to their seats, their odds of experiencing air rage double again. We suggest that physical and situational inequality are built into people s everyday environments such as the modern plane and that exposure to these forms of inequality can trigger anti-social behaviour, write the paper s authors, Katherine DeCelles of the University of Toronto and Michael Norton of Harvard.
It is not an altogether surprising phenomenon, given how humans tend to experience happiness and its absence. A study from 2010 found that rising economic well-being doesn t make the broader population any happier. Instead, an increase in wealth brings happiness only if others aren t experiencing the same boon. People are more content if their incomes rise relative to their neighbours or colleagues or university classmates. They don t compare ourselves to our needs; they compare ourselves to the people around them.
So it goes in the air. If an airline upgrades all the seats on its planes and makes them considerably more comfortable, passengers might not appreciate the change all that much. But if a passenger gets bumped up to first class and enjoys more comfort than most of the others on board well, there s something to feel good about. And as the PNAS study shows, that works in reverse: seeing other people experiencing more comfort makes flyers prone to getting annoyed.
In an era in which airlines are increasingly investing in upgraded first- and business-class experiences while packing as many price-sensitive flyers as possible into the back, this sense of envy is unlikely to ebb. But the Boeings and Airbuses of the world might at least consider installing middle-of-the-aircraft entrances that don t require economy passengers to walk past their better-heeled fellow travellers.