Effects of different non-driving-related-task display modes on drivers’ eye-movement patterns during take-over in an automated vehicle

Highly automated vehicles relieve drivers from driving tasks, allowing them to engage in non-driving-related-tasks (NDRTs). However, drivers are required to take over control in certain circumstances due to the limitations of highly automated vehicles. This study focused on drivers’ eye-movement patterns during take-overs when an NDRT (watching videos) was presented via a head-up-display (HUD) and a mobile device display (MDD), compared to no NDRT as the baseline. The experiment was conducted in a high-fidelity driving simulator with real-world driving videos scenarios. Forty-six participants took part in the experiment by completing three drives in three counterbalanced conditions (HUD, MDD and baseline). A take-over-request was issued towards the end of automated driving requesting drivers to stop the NDRT and take over control. Eye-movement data including pupil diameter, blinks, glance duration and number of AOI (Area of Interest) were collected and analysed. The results show that during automated driving, drivers were more engaged in the MDD NDRT with smaller pupil diameter and shorter glance duration on the front scenario compared to the HUD and baseline modes. The number of AOI was reduced during automated driving in both MDD and HUD modes. The take-over-request redirected drivers’ visual attention back to the driving task from NDRT by increasing drivers’ pupil diameter, glance duration and number of AOI. However, the effect of MDD NDRT on pupil diameter and glance duration continued even after the take-over-request when the NDRT was terminated. The study demonstrated HUD is a better display to help maintain drivers’ attention on the road.     

Please stop now,automated vehicle! – Passengers aim to avoid risk experiences in interactions with a crossing vulnerable road user at an urban junction

The success of highly automated vehicles (HAVs; SAE Level 4) will depend to a large extent on how well they are accepted by their future passengers. This is especially true for the interaction of these vehicles with other human road users in mixed traffic. In future urban traffic, passengers of HAVs will observe from a passive position how the automated system resolves space-sharing conflicts with crossing vulnerable road users (VRUs; e.g., pedestrians and cyclists) at junctions. For one such crossing-paths conflict, we investigated when passengers would want the HAV to start braking and how much perceived risk passengers accept in the interaction of their vehicle with VRUs. To this end, we conducted 1) an online video study (N = 118), 2) a driving simulator study (N = 28), and 3) a human&vehicle-in-the-loop (Hu&ViL) study at a test site (N = 10). We varied the speed of the HAV (30 km/h vs. 50 km/h), the type (cyclist vs. pedestrian), and crossing direction of the VRU (left vs. right). During the approach to the junction, passengers' task was to trigger the HAV's braking maneuver, in a first trial at the point they considered ideal and in a second trial at the last point they still considered safe enough to decelerate and come to a stop at the stop line. For each braking maneuver, we analyzed the HAV’s distance and time-to-arrival (TTA) to the VRU at braking onset, as well as passengers’ perceived risk in the VRU interaction. The results showed that most passengers preferred harmless interactions with VRUs (at the ideal braking onset time), and accepted unpleasant, but not dangerous interactions at most (at the last acceptable braking onset time). Methodologically, the results were very similar in the three different environments (online, driving simulator, real vehicle). These results clearly show that, in addition to the technical considerations of safe automated driving, passengers’ perception and evaluation of HAV driving behavior should also be taken into account to achieve a satisfying level of acceptance of these vehicles.     

Assessing the effect of long-automated driving operation,repeated take-over requests,and driver’s characteristics on commercial motor vehicle drivers’ driving behavior and reaction time in highly automated vehicles

Automated Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) have the potential to reduce the occurrence of crashes, enhance traffic flow, and reduce the stress of driving to a larger extent. Since fully automated driving (SAE Level 5) is not yet available, automated driving systems cannot perform all driving tasks under all road conditions. Drivers need to regain the vehicle’s control when the system reaches its maximum operational capabilities. This transition from automated to manual is referred to as Take-Over Request (TOR). Evaluating driver’s performance after TORs and assessing effective parameters have gained much attention in recent years. However, few studies have addressed CMV drivers’ driving behavior after TOR and the effect of long-automated driving and repeated TORs. This paper aims to address this gap and gain behavioral insights into CMV drivers’ driving behavior after TOR and assess the effect of the duration of automated operation before TOR, repeated TORs, and driver characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, and driving history). To accomplish this, we designed a 40-minutes experiment on a driving simulator and assessed the responses of certified CMV drivers to TORs. Drivers’ reaction time and driving behavior indices (e.g., acceleration, velocity, and headway) are compared to continuous manual driving to measure driving behavior differences. Results showed that CMV drivers’ driving behavior changes significantly after the transition to manual regardless of the number of TORs and the duration of automated driving. Findings suggest that 30 min of automated operation intensifies the effect of TOR on driving behaviors. In addition, repeated TOR improves reaction times to TOR and reduces drivers' maximum and minimum speed after TORs. Driver’s age and driving history showed significant effects on reaction time and some driving behavior indices. The findings of this paper provide valuable information to automotive companies and transportation planners on the nature of driver behavior changes due to the carryover effects of manual driving right after automated driving episodes in highly automated vehicles.     

This is not me! Technology-identity concerns in consumers’ acceptance of autonomous vehicle technology

The relationship between drivers and their cars is increasingly personal, where the cars become an extension of the drivers’ self-identity. However, the penetration of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology threatens consumers’ self-identity as expressed by the act of driving. This study thus aims to examine the impacts of technology-identity concerns on consumers’ acceptance of AV technology. Theories of identity threat, identity control and innovation diffusion are synthesised to build the conceptual framework. Face-to-face interview data were collected from 353 consumers (all with a driving license) in Singapore. The results show that consumers’ technology anxiety and self-identity expressiveness act as two sources of resistance that cause consumers’ intentional avoidance of the AV technology. The avoidance is further characterised by consumers’ disengagement from the ‘observe’ and ‘try’ stages of technology penetration, which ultimately dissuades consumers’ acceptance of AV technology. The impacts of socio-demographics are also explored. Our findings contribute to multiple streams of literature and create practical implications to AV manufacturers and retailers.     

Television viewing and perceptions of women’s roles on television and in real life

Television has been heavily criticized in the popular press for the way it depicts women. Narrow and stereotyped portrayals of women may, according to some writers, cultivate misconceptions among the public about the way women are or should be. In a new investigation of this issue a survey study was undertaken with a large British sample in the London ITV region in which data were obtained on TV viewing behaviours and perceptions of the way women are portrayed on TV and beliefs about how they are or should be in real life. Results showed that only weight of action-drama viewing was significantly related to respondents’ perceptions of women. Heavy viewers of action-drama content were more likely than light viewers to perceive women in reality as self-reliant, not quarrelsome with other women, not dependent on attractiveness to get on, and not preoccupied by romantic affairs. However, heavy action viewers also tended to believe that most women actually want to become mothers, and do not want careers, and more importantly that women ought to be like this. Only in some respects were these relationships consonant with those inferred by content analysts.     

The role of passion,need satisfaction,and conflict in athletes’ perceptions of burnout

This research examined the role of harmonious and obsessive passion in athletes’ perceptions of burnout. Two studies using correlational designs were carried out with different samples of athletes of varied skill levels. In Study 1, we found that obsessive passion was positively, and harmonious passion negatively, associated with burnout perceptions in athletes. Results of Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 and in addition used Structural Equation Modeling analyses to support the mediating role of conflict and need satisfaction in the relation between types of passion for sport and athletes’ perceptions of burnout. Furthermore, it was found that harmonious passion for a second activity was associated with lower athletes’ perceptions of burnout; while obsessive passion for a second activity was directly associated with it. The results have important implications for theory and research on passion as well as burnout in sport.     

Learners’ perceptions and experiences of respect in educator-learner relationships

The aim of the study was to explore and describe secondary school learners’ perceptions and experiences of respect in educator-learner relationships within a high-risk South African neighbourhood context. A qualitative research design was used in this study. The 15 participants were high school learners (females = 33%, age range 17 to 21 years). Data on how learners perceive and experience respect in educator-learner relationships were gathered utilising written assignments, and through the application of the World Café technique. Thematic analysis was used to identify relevant relationship themes for learners: mutuality, various behavioural practices and emotional attitudes. All school communities should promote relational well-being practices amongst educators and learners.     

Socio-economic and driving experience factors affecting drivers’ perceptions of traffic crash risk

Drivers are estimated to contribute an overwhelming proportion to the burden of traffic crashes, as factors that increase crash risk are frequently due to unsafe driving behaviours. The relationship between risk perceptions and people’s risky driving behaviours is still not well understood. This paper aims to further analyse the potential effect of risky driving behaviours on drivers’ perceptions of crash risk and differences in perceptions among drivers.Crash risk perceptions in an inter-city, two-way road context of 492 drivers were measured by using a Stated Preference (SP) ranking survey. Rank-ordered logit models were used to evaluate the impact on risk perception of five unsafe driving behaviours and to identify differences in drivers’ risk perceptions. The five unsafe driving behaviours considered in the analysis were respectively related to whether or not the driver follows the speed limits, the rules of passing another car and the safe distance, whether or not the driver is distracted, and whether or not she/he is driving under optimal personal conditions.All risky driving behaviours showed a significant potential effect (p < 0.001) on crash risk perceptions, and model’s results allowed to differentiate more important from less important unsafe driving behaviours based on their weight on perceived crash risk. Additionally, this paper further analyses the potential differences in risk perception of these traffic violations between drivers of different characteristics, such as driving experience, household size, income and gender.The SP technique could be applied to further analyse differences in perceptions of risky driving behaviours among drivers. Future research should consider the potential effect of driving skill on perceptions of risky driving behaviours.     

The influence of the built environment on pedestrians’ perceptions of attractiveness,safety and security

Perceptions of the walking environment can encourage or discourage walking for transport. However, the influence of the built environment (BE) on pedestrians’ perceptions of the walking environment has not been fully understood. To address this gap, the present research investigates how BE characteristics of a suburban walking environment are associated with the perceptions of attractiveness (i.e., pleasantness, friendliness), safety, and security. Using a cross-sectional design, 995 participants reported their perceptions about the attractiveness, safety, and security of different suburban BE scenarios in Brisbane (Australia). Univariate and bivariate random effect ordered probit models were estimated to identify the associations between BE characteristics and perceived attractiveness, safety, and security whilst controlling for psychosocial factors. Results indicated that perceived attractiveness (i.e., pleasantness and friendliness) was higher for recreational areas than residential land use. Women perceived the walking environment as more pleasant with trees. The perception of safety was higher for recreational and vacant land compared to residential areas. Young pedestrians perceived that the likelihood of being assaulted/robbed/harassed at night was lower if they walked through an area with commercial and mixed land use. Women pedestrians perceived that the corresponding risk at night was higher in recreational areas. Overall, the findings suggest that urban design strategies such as increasing land use diversity and providing adequate trees enhance perceived environmental attractiveness, safety, and security, ultimately resulting in more walking for transport.     

The ‘White Male Effect’ in perceptions of risk of dying from COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic people had to gauge their personal health risks in order to decide which protective behaviors to adopt. We explored whether mortality risk perceptions varied by demographic background. Using data from a nationally representative U.S. survey, we analyzed bi-weekly mortality estimates of 8339 individuals from 1 April 2020 to 21 July 2021. Consistent with a White Male Effect, White men estimated the risk of death to be lower than White women, non-White men, and non-White women. Furthermore, when linking those estimates to the actual risk of dying from COVID-19, as reflected in official fatality rates recorded by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), White men were indeed less likely to die from the coronavirus than would be expected based on their proportion of the populations. In contrast, deaths in non-White men and non-White women were higher than would be expected. Thus, subjective risk perceptions tracked objective mortality risks. Because White men tend to disproportionally hold positions with high decision-making power, although biased risk estimates may be less likely to have negative consequences for themselves, they may be especially detrimental to those for whom such decisions are made.     

Real-time detection of drivers’ texting and eating behavior based on vehicle dynamics

With rapid advancement in cellphones and intelligent in-vehicle technologies along with driver’s inclination to multitasking, crashes due to distracted driving had become a growing safety concern in our road network. Some previous studies attempted to detect distracted driving behaviors in real-time to mitigate their adverse consequences. However, these studies mainly focused on detecting either visual or cognitive distractions only, while most of the real-life distracting tasks involve driver’s visual, cognitive, and physical workload, simultaneously. Additionally, previous studies frequently used eye, head, or face tracking data, although current vehicles are not commonly equipped with technologies to acquire such data. Also those data are comparatively difficult to acquire in real-time during traffic monitoring operations. To address the above issues, this study focused on developing algorithms for detecting distraction tasks that involve simultaneous visual, cognitive, and physical workload using only vehicle dynamics data. Specifically, algorithms were developed to detect driving behaviors under two distraction tasks – texting and eating. Experiment was designed to include the two distracted driving scenarios and a control with multiple runs for each. A medium fidelity driving simulator was used for acquiring vehicle dynamics data for each scenario and each run. Several data mining techniques were explored in this study to investigate their performance in detecting distraction. Among them, the performance of two linear (linear discriminant analysis and logistic regression) and two nonlinear models (support vector machines and random forests) is reported in this article. Random forests algorithms had the best performance, which detected texting and eating distraction with an accuracy of 85.38% and 81.26%, respectively. This study may provide useful guidance to successful development and implementation of distracted driver detection algorithms in connected vehicle environment, as well as to auto manufacturers interested in integrating distraction detection systems in their vehicles.     

Employees’ mood, perceptions of fairness, and organizational citizenship behavior

Previous research findings concerning employees’ perceptions of fairness and positive mood as predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) have been equivocal. Explanations for this inconsistency may be related to the varying types of manipulation techniques adopted and samples tested. To address these issues, the present study adopted the mood and fairness manipulation techniques of Bachrach and Jex (2000, Journal of Applied Psychology, 30(3), 641–663) to investigate their effect on OCB amongst a sample of 138 employees from five large service organizations. The findings revealed that employees’ perceptions of fairness affected their likelihood to perform organizational citizenship behaviors. One implication of this finding is that employees’ perceptions of fairness may have a more enduring effect, in comparison to their mood, on increasing their extra role work behaviors. However, a close evaluation of the mood manipulation technique suggests that further research is needed before any firm conclusions can be made on the relative effect of empolyees’ perceived fairness and positive mood on OCB.     

Chimpanzees’ use of conspecific cues in matching-to-sample tasks: public information use in a fully automated testing environment

Social animals have much to gain from observing and responding appropriately to the actions of their conspecific group members. This can in turn lead to the learning of novel behavior patterns (social learning) or to foraging, ranging, or social behavioral choices copied from fellow group members, which do not necessarily result in long-term learning, but at the time represent adaptive responses to environmental cues (public information use). In the current study, we developed a novel system for the study of public information use under fully automated conditions. We modified a classic single-subject laboratory paradigm—matching-to-sample (MTS)—and examined chimpanzees’ ability to interpret and utilize cues provided by the behavior of a conspecific to solve the task. In Experiment 1, two subjects took turns on an identity MTS task, with one subject (the model) performing the first half of the trial and the other subject (the observer) completing the trial using the model’s actions as discriminative cues. Both subjects performed above chance from the first session onwards. In Experiment 2, the subjects were tested on a symbolic version of the same MTS task, with one subject showing spontaneous transfer. Our study establishes a novel method for examining public information use within a highly controlled and automated setting.     

Student clinicians’ and clients’ perceptions of the therapeutic alliance and outcomes in stuttering treatment

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine how the therapeutic alliances (TA) of graduate student clinicians and adult clients who stutter relate to perceived treatment outcomes.MethodsStudent clinicians (N = 42) and adult clients who stutter (N = 22) completed a survey assessing their TA strength and perception of treatment outcomes. Responses were analyzed to determine similarities and differences in how clinicians and clients relate the TA to perceptions of treatment effectiveness, progress, and outcome satisfaction.ResultsResults suggest that clinicians and clients who stutter both relate the TA to treatment outcome, but in different ways. While clinicians associate the TA most with treatment effectiveness and client progress, clients relate the TA most to outcome satisfaction.ConclusionClinicians should be aware that for adult clients who stutter, outcome satisfaction is related to the degree of shared understanding, agreement on daily tasks, and bond they experience with their clinician. To ensure a strong TA and client satisfaction, clinicians should actively seek their clients’ perspective regarding TA status.     

The effect of the dominance of an in-vehicle agent’s voice on driver situation awareness,emotion regulation,and trust: A simulated lab study of manual and automated driving

As in-vehicle voice agents increase in popularity, related research is extending to how voice messages can affect the driver’s cognitive and emotional states. Accordingly, we investigated how in-vehicle agent (IVA) voice dominance and driving automation can affect the driver’s situation awareness (SA), emotion regulation (ER), and trust. To this end, a lab-based experiment was conducted with a medium-fidelity driving simulator using actor-recorded voice agents. Twenty-two female and nineteen male driver-licensed participants were recruited to drive simulated vehicles with voice agents and evaluated. The results demonstrated that compared with the dominant voice, the agent with a submissive voice significantly increased ER in both manual and automated driving. Furthermore, the submissive voice significantly increased trust in automated driving compared with the dominant agent. Cross and synergistic interaction effects exist between voice dominance and driving automation in SA and ER, respectively. This study revealed that both the content of the messages of the IVAs and their voice characteristics are essential for modulating the driver’s SA, ER, and trust in driving. It is expected that larger-scale future studies with simulation or on a real road would increase the validity of this study.     

The role of race and teachers’ cultural awareness in predicting low-income,Black and Hispanic students’ perceptions of educational attainment

Demographic shifts in the United States have resulted in similar demographic shifts between K-12 teachers and their students, resulting in important implications for the educational outcomes of traditionally marginalized students and educators’ cultural awareness required in teaching diverse classrooms. Using data from the Three-City Teacher Study, this study examined students’ (N = 207; 55 % female; 52 % non-Hispanic Black, 48 % non-White Hispanic; mean age = 16.70 years, SD = 1.67) and teachers’ (N = 202; 71.5 % female; 64.3 % white; mean years of experience = 13.80 years, SD = 10.83) agreement on the potential educational attainment of the student. Specifically, we explored the probability that teachers had lower, matched, or higher perceptions of educational attainment compared to their low-income Black and Hispanic students’ perceptions of attainment while accounting for teachers’ and students’ reports of school connectedness, teachers’ cultural awareness, and moderating effects of students’ race. Results from multinomial logistic regressions found that teachers were more likely to have lower perceptions of educational attainment for Hispanic students compared to Black students. Teachers were also more likely to have lower perceptions when they perceived students to have low school connectedness. For Black students, teachers’ cultural awareness attenuated this association; that is, teachers were more likely to have higher perceptions of educational attainment for Black students when they reported higher cultural awareness. The reverse was true for Hispanic students. These results enhance our understanding of how teacher and student perceptions shape expectations of educational attainment with implications for teacher education and professional development domestically and internationally.     

Investigating the effect of blood alcohol concentration on motorcyclist’s riding performance using an advanced motorcycle simulator

It is largely accepted that drink-driving significantly increases the likelihood that a driver may engage in risk-taking behavior and thus road crash. Although there have been a few studies examining the effect of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on rider performance in developed countries, there has not been any research on the effect of BAC levels on motorcycle rider’s performance in developing countries. This study is attempted to evaluate the effect of low BAC levels (i.e., ≤0.05 g/dL or 0.05) on riding performance of motorcycle riders in Vietnam using an advanced motorcycle riding simulator. Thirty-four motorcycle riders aged 18–40 complete simulated rides on three BAC levels, namely 0.00, 0.02, and 0.05. Riding performance indicators are measured and compared at different BAC levels. These indicators include average speed, average lateral overtaking distance, brake reaction time, acceleration, deceleration, and frequency of lane change. At the level BAC = 0.02 or lower, the negative effects on the rider’s ability to control a motorcycle safely are statically insignificant. At the level BAC = 0.05, all the performances are impaired and the negative effects become statistically significant. In comparison of between novice participants and experienced participants at the same level of BAC, mean speed and acceleration rates of novice participants are significantly higher than the experienced participant. Based on the findings, the paper further discusses empirical relationships between reduced riding performances and road crash risk, and insights into drink-riding deterrence policy-making with regard to motorcycle riders.     

Self-determined self-other overlap: Interacting effects on partners’ perceptions of support and well-being in close relationships

Self-other overlap, an important dimension of interpersonal closeness, is linked to positive interpersonal and well-being outcomes in relationships with romantic partners and friends. Three studies applied principles from self-determination theory to examine whether individual differences in self-determined motivation moderate the effects of higher self-other overlap on partner outcomes. Studies were cross-sectional and longitudinal, and examined personality and relationship-specific self-determination in friends (Study 1) and romantic partners (all studies); all were comprised of dyads to examine partner effects. Results suggested that as self-determined individuals reported greater self-other overlap, their partners also reported receiving more positive motivational support as well as enhanced commitment. On the other hand, when individuals were low in self-determination, partners did not benefit from greater self-other overlap.     

How do the recognizability and driving styles of automated vehicles affect human drivers’ gap acceptance at T- Intersections?

Future traffic will be composed of both human-driven vehicles (HDVs) and automated vehicles (AVs). To accurately predict the performance of mixed traffic, an important aspect is describing HDV behavior when interacting with AVs. A few exploratory studies show that HDVs change their behavior when interacting with AVs, being influenced by factors such as recognizability and driving style of AVs. Unsignalized priority intersections can significantly affect traffic flow efficiency and safety of the road network. To understand HDV behavior in mixed traffic at unsignalized priority T-intersections, a driving simulator experiment was set up in which 95 drivers took part in it. The route in the driving simulator included three T-intersections where the drivers had to give priority to traffic on the major road. The participants drove different scenarios which varied in whether the AVs were recognizable or not, and in their driving style (Aggressive or Defensive). The results showed that in mixed traffic having recognizable aggressive AVs, drivers accepted significantly larger gaps (and had larger critical gaps) when merging in front of AVs as compared to mixed traffic having either recognizable defensive AVs or recognizable mixed AVs (composed of both aggressive and defensive). This was not the case when merging in front of an HDV in the same scenarios. Drivers had significantly smaller critical gaps when driving in traffic having non-recognizable aggressive AVs compared to non-recognizable defensive AVs. The findings suggest that human drivers change their gap acceptance behavior in mixed traffic depending on the combined effect of recognizability and driving style of AVs, including accepting shorter gaps in front of non-recognizable aggressive AVs and changing their original driving behavior. This could have implications for traffic efficiency and safety at such priority intersections. Decision makers must carefully consider such behavioral adaptations before implementing any policy changes related to AVs and the infrastructure.