Measuring drivers’ takeover performance in varying levels of automation: Considering the influence of cognitive secondary task

Mixed control by driver and automated system will remain in use for decades until fully automated driving is perfected. Thus, drivers must be able to accurately regain control of vehicles in a timely manner when the automated system sends a takeover request (TOR) at its limitation. Therefore, determining the factors that affect drivers’ takeover quality at varying levels of automated driving is important. Previous studies have shown that visually distracting secondary tasks impair drivers’ takeover performance and increase the subjective workload. However, the influence of purely cognitive distracting secondary tasks on drivers’ takeover performance and how this influence varies at different levels of automation are still unknown. Hence, a 5 (driving modes) × 3 (cognitive secondary tasks) factorial design with the within-subject factors was adopted for this driving simulator experiment. The sample consisted of 21 participants. The participants’ subjective workloads were recorded by the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Results showed that compared to manual driving conditions, the drivers’ subjective workloads were significantly reduced in both partially and highly automated driving conditions, even with a TOR, confirming the benefit of the automated driving system in terms of reducing the driving workload. Moreover, the drivers exhibited a lower takeover behavior quality at high levels of automation than manual driving in terms of increased reaction time, abnormal performance, standard deviation of lane position, lane departure probability, and reduced minimum of time to collision. However, at the highly automated driving condition, the drivers’ longitudinal driving safety and ability to follow instructions improved when performing a highly cognitive secondary task. This phenomenon possibly occurred because automated driving conditions lead to an underload phenomenon, and the execution of highly cognitive tasks transfers drivers into moderate load, which helps with the drivers’ takeover performance.     

Anticipatory postural adjustments during a Fitts’ task: Comparing young versus older adults and the effects of different foci of attention

Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) are an integral part of standing balance. Previous research with balance control has shown that adopting an external focus of attention, compared to an internal focus of attention, yields better performance during motor skills. Despite the importance of APAs, especially among older adults, and the potential benefits of adopting an external focus of attention, studies investigating methods for improving APAs are limited. The aim of this study was to compare behavioral, kinematic and APAs measures while adopting different foci of attention among young and older adults when performing a lower extremity Fitts’ task. Ten young adults (mean age 24 years ± 4.37) and ten older adults (mean age 75 years ± 5.85) performed a lower-extremity reaching task (Fitts’ task) while adopting an external focus (focus on target) and an internal focus (focus on limb) in a within-subject design. A motion capture system was used to record participants’ movement data. Custom software derived movement time (MT), peak velocity (PV), time to peak velocity (ttPV) and variability at target (SD_T). Electromyography (EMG) was used to determine APAs onset and magnitude. The findings showed that an external focus of attention led to significantly shorter MT, higher PV, shorter ttPV and more accuracy when reaching the target (SD_T) for both age groups. Also, EMG results showed that, with an external focus, APAs onset occurred earlier and APAs magnitude was more efficient. As predicted by Fitts’ Law, participants spent more time executing movements to targets with higher indices of difficulty. Older adults compared to young adults were more adversely affected by the increase of difficulty of the Fitts’ task, specifically, on measures of APAs. In conclusion, adopting an external focus of attention led to better overall movement performance when performing a lower extremity Fitts’ task. The task used in the present study can distinguish between APAs for older and young adults. We recommend that future studies expand on our findings in order to establish a performance-based objective measure of APAs to assess clinical interventions for postural control impairment.     

Understanding the influence of in-vehicle information systems on range stress – Insights from an electric vehicle field experiment

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) drivers frequently report concerns of becoming stranded as a result of battery depletion, widely referred to as range stress, which constitutes a main obstacle to the adoption of these vehicles. One promising solution identified to mitigate range stress is to provide appropriate and accurate information through in-vehicle information systems (IVISs). Therefore, we aim to gain a broader understanding on the influence of specific IVISs on drivers’ range stress perception. To accomplish this, we performed a BEV field experiment in real traffic situations. By placing participants in a critical range situation, we could measure their psychometric range appraisal and psychophysiological feedback. The results of the psychometric evaluation revealed that individuals perceived the critical range situation as less challenging and threatening with the provided IVISs. Physiological indicators were found to be useful in complementing questionnaire-based evaluation methods within the field of range stress. Although the findings of the psychophysiological measurement revealed that IVISs-equipped participants exhibited increases in stress perception over time due to volatile range feedback, the average stress level was observed to be lower throughout the entire driving task.     

Risk compensation theory and bicycle helmets – Results from an experiment of cycling speed and short-term effects of habituation

It has been suggested that the safety benefits of bicycle helmets are limited by risk compensation. The current study contributes to explaining whether the potential safety effects of bicycle helmets are reduced by cyclists’ tendency to cycle faster when wearing them (as a result of risk compensation), and if this potential reduction can be associated with a change in perceived risk. A previous study (Fyhri & Phillips, 2013) showed that non-routine helmet users did not increase their speed immediately after being given a helmet to wear, while routine helmet users cycled more slowly. The current study tests whether the previously found reduction in speed in response to helmet removal – as an indirect indicator of risk compensation – could be established in non-routine helmet users, after a period of habituation while cycling with a helmet.We did this by conducting a randomized crossover trial, in which we used GPS-derived speed calculations and self-reported risk perception. To test the effect of habituation, we used a design where each participant took part in two rounds with a break between and each round having two trips. We collected the data in June 2015. Non-routine helmet users (N = 31) were recruited in the field (along cycle routes in Oslo), and through a sample drawn from the Falck National register of bicycle owners. In the first phase of the study, all participants were asked to complete a test route (2.4 km downhill) with and without a helmet. In the second phase of the experiment, conducted after 1.5–2 h, the same participants again completed the test route with and without a helmet. In the time between the first and second phases of the experiment, all participants were given helmets, and told to use them on a predefined bicycle route.Habituation to the helmet between the first and second phases of the experiment did not produce any decrease (with helmet removal) in speed, on top of the habituation that occurred while cycling down the hill (the order effect). Mean speed difference for cycling with/without a helmet before the break was −0.76 km/h, after the break this difference was 0.32 km/h; 95% CIs [−0.5, 2.9] and [−0.9, 1.5]. We argue that risk compensation is an unlikely effect of using a bicycle helmet, and probably cannot explain any adverse effects related to helmet legislation.     

Modeling the impact of traffic conditions and bicycle facilities on cyclists’ on-road stress levels

Past research efforts have shown that cyclists’ safety, stress, and comfort levels greatly affect the routes chosen by cyclists and cycling frequency. Some researchers have tried to categorize cyclists’ levels of traffic stress utilizing data that can be directly measured in the field, such as the number of motorized travel lanes, motorized vehicle travel speeds, and type of bicycle infrastructure. This research effort presents a novel approach: real-world, on-road measurements of physiological stress as cyclists travel across different types of bicycle facilities at peak and off-peak traffic times. By matching videos with stressful events, it was possible to observe the circumstances of those stressful events. The stress data was normalized, and the method was carefully validated by a detailed analysis of the stress measurements. Novel statistical results from a multi-subject study quantifies the impact of traffic conditions, intersections, and bicycle facilities on average stress levels.     

Dark and bright sides of thriving – school burnout and engagement in the Finnish context

School burnout is defined as exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy as a student, and engagement can be conceptualized as study-related vigor, absorption and dedication. School burnout is increasing, particularly among students on an academic track, while at the end of elementary school almost half of the students no longer find school meaningful. School burnout and engagement were investigated by applying the demand-resource and stage-environment models. The results show that high school demands lead to burnout, while personal and school resources lead to school engagement. Burnout from school-context can also spillover to later depression, drop out and internet addiction, and engagement to overall satisfaction with life and success in educational pathways. In line with the stage-environment fit theory, educational transitions play a role in changes in school burnout trajectories. Adoption of a person-oriented approach revealed several different burnout-engagement profiles, including a profile in which students are at the same time both exhausted and engaged. The social context of peers, immigrant status, parents and teachers also play an important role in engagement and burnout.     

Redintegration and lexicality effects in children: Do they depend upon the demands of the memory task?

The effect of long-term knowledge upon performance in short-term memory tasks was examined for children from 5 to 10 years of age. The emergence of a lexicality effect, in which familiar words were recalled more accurately than unfamiliar words, was found to depend upon the nature of the memory task. Lexicality effects were interpreted as reflecting the use of redintegration, or reconstruction processes, in short-term memory. Redintegration increased with age for tasks requiring spoken item recall and decreased with age when position information but not naming was required. In a second experiment, redintegration was found in a recognition task when some of the foils rhymed with the target. Older children were able to profit from a rhyming foil, whereas younger children were confused by it, suggesting that the older children make use of sublexical phonological information in reconstructing the target. It was proposed that redintegrative processes in their mature form support the reconstruction of detailed phonological knowledge of words.     

The dynamics of purchasing an electric vehicle – A prospective longitudinal study of the decision-making process

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal prospective study which followed 113 people interested in the purchase of an electric vehicle for a period of two months. Based on an adapted stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (Bamberg, 2013b), a short online questionnaire with a stage diagnostic and the measurement of central model constructs was administered to the participants every second day. The analysis shows that 85% of transitions between the stages occur along the paths of the stage model. Stage transitions are preceded by increases in goal intentions and implementation intentions during the week before the transition. Intentions are predicted by most of the expected model constructs, but the effects were different on the between-person and the within-person level. The average stage durations are between two and three weeks. Implications of the study for research on stage models and practice are discussed.     

Children’s choice strategies: the effects of age and task demands

Two experiments examined the effect of age and cognitive demands on children’s choice strategies. Children aged 8–9 and 12–13 years were asked to choose among either two or four products that differed in several attributes of varying importance to them. Choice tasks were designed to differentiate between the lexicographic and the equal-weighting strategies that the children used. The results showed that older children use the two strategies more appropriately than younger children do. The choice of strategies reflects the demands of the task. All children were more likely to use the strategies correctly when choosing between two alternatives and tended to rely on the relatively less cognitive-demanding lexicographic strategy to choose among four alternatives. However, they were less likely to employ the lexicographic strategy in simpler tasks and when its use was difficult to justify, indicating an adaptive use.     

The role of task rules and stimulus–response mappings in the task switching paradigm

Switch costs occur whenever participants are asked to switch between two or more task sets. In a typical task switching experiment, participants have to switch between two task sets composed of up to four different stimuli per task set. These 2 (task sets) x 4 (stimuli) contain only 8 different stimulus-response (S-R) mappings, and the question is why participants base their task performance on task sets instead of S-R mappings. The current experiments compared task performance based on task rules with performance based on single stimulus-response mappings. Participants were led to learn eight different S-R mappings with or without fore-knowledge about two underlying task sets. Without task set information no difference between shifts and repetitions occurred, whereas introducing task sets at the beginning led to significant switch costs. Most importantly, introducing task sets in the middle of the experiment also resulted in significant switch costs. Furthermore, introducing task rules at the beginning of the experiment lead to slower RTs when simple stimuli (Experiment 1) had to be processed. This detrimental effect disappeared with more complex stimuli (Experiment 2). Results will be discussed with respect to cognitive control.     

Reaction time measures in deception research: Comparing the effects of irrelevant and relevant stimulus–response compatibility

Evidence regarding the validity of reaction time (RT) measures in deception research is mixed. One possible reason for this inconsistency is that structurally different RT paradigms have been used. The aim of this study was to experimentally investigate whether structural differences between RT tasks are related to how effective those tasks are for capturing deception. We achieved this aim by comparing the effectiveness of relevant and irrelevant stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) tasks. We also investigated whether an intended but not yet completed mock crime could be assessed with both tasks. Results showed (1) a larger compatibility effect in the relevant SRC task compared to the irrelevant SRC task, (2) for both the completed and the intended crime. These results were replicated in a second experiment in which a semantic feature (instead of color) was used as critical response feature in the irrelevant SRC task. The findings support the idea that a structural analysis of deception tasks helps to identify RT measures that produce robust group effects, and that strong compatibility effects for both enacted crimes as well as merely intended crimes can be found with RT measures that are based on the manipulation of relevant SRC.     

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.     

Does the walking task matter? Influence of different walking conditions on dual-task performances in young and older persons

Previous literature suggests that age-related deficits of dual-task walking are particularly pronounced with second tasks that require continuous visual processing. Here we evaluate whether the difficulty of the walking task matters as well. To this end, participants were asked to walk along a straight pathway of 20 m length in four different walking conditions: (a) wide path and preferred pace; (b) narrow path and preferred pace, (c) wide path and fast pace, (d) obstacled wide path and preferred pace. Each condition was performed concurrently with a task requiring visual processing or fine motor control, and all tasks were also performed alone which allowed us to calculate the dual-task costs (DTC). Results showed that the age-related increase of DTC is substantially larger with the visually demanding than with the motor-demanding task, more so when walking on a narrow or obstacled path. We attribute these observations to the fact that visual scanning of the environment becomes more crucial when walking in difficult terrains: the higher visual demand of those conditions accentuates the age-related deficits in coordinating them with a visual non-walking task.     

Are mastery and ability goals both adaptive? Evaluation,initial goal construction and the quality of task engagement

Aims. The aims of this research were to examine the predictions that (a) the kind of evaluation pupils anticipate will influence their initial achievement goals and, as a result, the quality and consequences of task engagement; and (b) initial mastery goals will promote new learning and intrinsic motivation and initial ability goals will promote entity beliefs that ability is fixed. Sample. Participants were 312 secondary school pupils at ages 13–15. Methods. Pupils expected to receive normative evaluation, temporal evaluation (scores over time) or no evaluation. Mastery and ability goals were measured before pupils worked on challenging problems; intrinsic motivation and entity beliefs were measured after task completion. Results. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced initial mastery goals, anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced ability goals and the no‐evaluation condition undermined both. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced new learning (strategy acquisition and performance gains) and intrinsic motivation both directly and by enhancing initial mastery goals; anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced entity beliefs by enhancing ability goals. Conclusions. Results confirmed that evaluation conveys potent cues as to the goals of activity. They also challenged claims that both mastery and ability goals can be adaptive by demonstrating that these were differentially associated with positive versus negative processes and outcomes. Results have theoretical and applied implications for understanding and improving evaluative practices and student motivation.     

Can different levels of S-R practice influence sequence learning? An investigation into the context of a perceptual-motor sequence learning task

The main aim of the present study was to evaluate on a serial reaction time task the effect of stimulus-response (S-R) practice on sequence learning. The experiment used a pointing task which allowed recording reaction times and movement times. The basic manipulation consisted in varying the amount of S-R practice prior to sequence practice. Two main findings from this study may be highlighted. Firstly, the benefit from extensive S-R practice was mainly observed in the random practice phase. Secondly, S-R learning and sequence learning were reflected by different components of performance. The movement times were selectively sensitive to the acquisition of S-R regularities whereas the reaction times were selectively sensitive to the acquisition of sequence regularities. The implications of these results on the comprehension of the sequence learning mechanism were then discussed.     

Test–retest reliability and task order effects of emotional cognitive tests in healthy subjects

Little is known of the retest reliability of emotional cognitive tasks or the impact of using different tasks employing similar emotional stimuli within a battery. We investigated this in healthy subjects. We found improved overall performance in an emotional attentional blink task (EABT) with repeat testing at one hour and one week compared to baseline, but the impact of an emotional stimulus on performance was unchanged. Similarly, performance on a facial expression recognition task (FERT) was better one week after a baseline test, though the relative effect of specific emotions was unaltered. There was no effect of repeat testing on an emotional word categorising, recall and recognition task. We found no difference in performance in the FERT and EABT irrespective of task order. We concluded that it is possible to use emotional cognitive tasks in longitudinal studies and combine tasks using emotional facial stimuli in a single battery.     

Executive functions in elite athletes – Comparing open-skill and closed-skill sports and considering the role of athletes' past involvement in both sport categories

Previous research documented differences in executive functions between elite athletes in different sports. It was argued that athletes in sport disciplines with higher cognitive demands (i.e., open-skill) show better executive functions than athletes in less cognitively challenging sport disciplines (i.e., closed-skill). In the current study, we aimed at detecting differences in executive functions between elite athletes in open-skill versus closed-skill sports and questioned the role of their total involvement in these sports until the age of 18 on executive functions.Seventy-five elite athletes (45 males and 30 females; M_age = 23.03 ± 4.41 years) from various sports were classified as open- or closed-skill athletes based on the sport they currently competed in. The athletes conducted a series of neuro-psychological tests measuring working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility (Design Fluency test, Trail Making test, Flanker task, and a 2-back task). Retrospective interviews assessed athletes' sport involvement in open-skill and closed-skill sports until the age of 18.MANCOVAs revealed that athletes in open-skill sports performed better on measures of working memory and cognitive flexibility. Generalized Linear Models displayed that elite athletes in closed-skill sports, with greater involvement in open-skill sports until the age of 18, performed better during working memory and cognitive flexibility tasks.The results indicate that extensive time spent in open- and closed-skill sports can affect executive functions in elite athletes. A high involvement in open-skill sports proved to be beneficial for executive functions, in particular for elite athletes in closed-skill sports. These findings suggest that experiences in cognitively demanding sports may cause benefits for the development of executive functions.     

The effect of explicitly varying the proportion of “same” and “different” responses on sex differences in the Shepard and Metzler mental rotation task

The mental rotation of three-dimensional objects is consistently identified as the most salient cognitive sex difference in humans. The Shepard and Metzler task (1971) requires participants to rotate an object in their “mind's eye” and then compare the shape to a second object to identify if the two objects can be aligned in an identical orientation (warranting a “same” response) or represent mirror image shapes of one another (warranting a “different” response). The mental rotation task not only involves a rotational component but also nonrotational components such as comparison and decision making. Recent research has suggested that the sex difference in mental rotation resides in the nonrotational aspects of “different” decisions specifically. This experiment examined this proposal by varying the proportion of “different” decisions across conditions. Participants were ether exposed to the traditional format (50:50 same/different) or a bias towards (75:25) or away from (25:75) different responses. Contrary to previous research, the sex difference was found to reside in “same” responses that required a greater degree of rotation when assessing error rates in mental rotation. Sex differences in mental rotation error rates were particularly sensitive to the rotational aspect of same responses, not rotational aspects of different responses nor nonrotational aspects of both same and different responses. For reaction time, however, a sex difference emerged in the nonrotational aspects of the task. The bias described here affected these nonrotational aspects of the task, but not the rotational aspects, in line with prediction. A second study reran the experiment without making the bias explicit. Under this implicit bias, no sex differences were identified between conditions.