How Are Personality States Associated with Smartphone Data?

Smartphones promise great potential for personality science to study people's everyday life behaviours. Even though personality psychologists have become increasingly interested in the study of personality states, associations between smartphone data and personality states have not yet been investigated. This study provides a first step towards understanding how smartphones may be used for behavioural assessment of personality states. We explored the relationships between Big Five personality states and data from smartphone sensors and usage logs. On the basis of the existing literature, we first compiled a set of behavioural and situational indicators, which are potentially related to personality states. We then applied them on an experience sampling data set containing 5748 personality state responses that are self-assessments of 30 minutes timeframes and corresponding smartphone data. We used machine learning analyses to investigate the predictability of personality states from the set of indicators. The results showed that only for extraversion, smartphone data (specifically, ambient noise level) were informative beyond what could be predicted based on time and day of the week alone. The results point to continuing challenges in realizing the potential of smartphone data for psychological research. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology     

Characterising mobile phone calls while driving on limited-access roads based on SHRP 2 naturalistic driving data

Research has found that mobile phone call engagement while driving negatively affects driving performance. However, no studies exist characterising hand-held mobile phone calls while driving under naturalistic conditions that include aspects such as the duration of mobile phone subtasks and glance behaviour. Identifying the particularly distracting phases of hand-held telephoning and the nature of influencing factors are the basis for developing design recommendations (e.g. for an in-vehicle information system). Potential influencing factors on driving performance such as call type, mobile phone storage location, or any self-regulatory behaviour need to be taken into account. The present study aimed to draw a comprehensive picture of making hand-held mobile phone calls while driving on limited-access roads using SHRP 2 naturalistic driving data. Mobile phone phase duration, glance behaviour, call type, and mobile phone storage location were coded manually across 98 events. The results show that the handling phase of a mobile phone call (e.g. searching for contacts, dialling) was the most dangerous due to longer mean off- than on-road glances. Outgoing calls caused longer mean off-road glances than incoming; nevertheless, the 2 s critical threshold was not exceeded. A significant influence of mobile phone storage location on glance behaviour did not exist. Moreover, at least in free-flow driving conditions, drivers had enough spare capacity to conduct a mobile phone call without reducing vehicle speed. The results suggest that in low complexity traffic situations drivers can compensate for the increased driving task demand due to telephoning by making minor changes in glance behaviour.     

Psychological predictors of texting while driving among university students

Although text messaging while driving is illegal in Spain previous research has shown that a substantial proportion of drivers, particularly young drivers, engage in this risky behaviour. The present study set out to investigate the psychological predictors of this behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This study also measured the drivers’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the ban on mobile phone use while driving, their perceived crash risk, the risk of being fined and the drivers perceived ability to compensate for the distraction caused by reading or writing text messages while driving. Data were collected using an online questionnaire from 1082 university students who were drivers and owned a mobile phone. Attitude and perceived behavioural control significantly predicted the intention to send and read text messages while driving, even after controlling for exposure and demographic variables. Furthermore, intention was found to be a significant predictor of retrospective measures of both sending and reading text messages while driving, as was perceived behavioural control for several of the outcome measures. The present findings provide support for the TPB and also demonstrate the additional contributions that the mobile phone ban and perceived ability to compensate for the distraction had in predicting intentions. In addition, perceived crash risk was positively related to the prediction of intentions to send text messages and the number of messages read in the last week. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The prevalence of in-vehicle driving distractions in road traffic collisions as a function of road type

While some previous research suggests that conversing with passengers is the most prevalent in-vehicle distraction while driving, others have concluded instead that it is mobile phone use. One possible explanation for these differences is that distraction prevalence varies with road type. To test this proposal the current study investigated the prevalence of in-vehicle driving distraction in road traffic collisions (RTCs) as recorded in national records from the US and New Zealand. Analysis using odds ratios suggested conversing with passengers to be a more prevalent distraction in RTCs on minor roads than on major roads, and mobile phone use to be a more prevalent distraction on major roads than on minor roads. These results show the importance of considering the type of road when investigating the prevalence of driving distractions in RTCs in future research.     

Mobile phone use while driving in Finland

Mobile phones represent one of the most common distractions for drivers and phone use while driving is particularly problematic in Finland. The aim of this research was to explore the Finnish sample of responses from ESRA2 (E-Survey of Road users' Attitudes) with a specific focus on the distracting behaviours related to mobile phone usage while driving. ESRA2 data is derived from online surveys amongst a representative sample of the adult populations in each participating country. In total a sample of 994 responses were collected in Finland for ESRA2, which included 703 responses from participants who held a driver’s licence and reported driving a car in the 30 days prior to the survey.The results provide evidence of the problematic usage of mobile phones while driving in Finland. Mobile phone use was considered across three specific types of usage: (1) handheld phone calls while driving; (2) handsfree phone calls while driving; (3) texting, emailing or social media use while driving. Almost half (49.4 %) of the sample reported using a handheld mobile phone to make a call while driving at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey. A similar percentage (41.4 %) of the sample had used a phone hands-free and 35.6 % had texted, emailed, or used social media.The study highlights how mobile phone usage is a complex and multifaceted issue and that there are a broad range of underlying factors that influence mobile phone usage depending on the way in which people engage with their mobile phone while driving. The findings suggest that a systematic approach to reducing mobile phone distraction is needed that addresses the issue through a combination of legislation, enforcement, and education.     

Factors influencing intentions to text while driving among Polish drivers

Previous research has found that using a mobile phone while driving has a detrimental effect on driver safety and performance. The present study used the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine a number of factors thought to be related to intentions to send or read text messages while driving. A total of 298 Polish drivers completed a survey that included measures of the TPB components related to intentions to send or read text messages in four different scenarios. The scenarios differed according to whether or not the drivers were waiting at traffic lights or travelling at 100 km/h and according to whether or not they were under time pressure. The research found that Attitudes and Perceived Behavioural Control were positive predictors of general intentions to use a mobile phone while driving. Similarly, Attitudes consistently predicted intentions to send and read text messages across the four scenarios. The findings of this study could be utilised for developing an educational campaign aimed at promoting more positive attitudes toward road safety and at reducing intentions to use mobile phones while driving.     

Effects of listening to music, and of using a handheld and handsfree telephone on cycling behaviour

The effects of listening to music on cycling behaviour were evaluated. Twenty-five participants completed a track on a bicycle while listening to music with two standard earbuds, with one earbud, and with two in-earbuds. Conditions with high tempo music and loud volume were also included in the experiment, as were two mobile phone conditions, one in which participants operated the phone hand held and one handsfree condition.Cycle speed was not affected by listening to music, but was reduced in the telephone conditions. In general the response to auditory signals worsened when participants listened to music, in particular when listening with in-earbuds loud auditory stop signals were missed in 68% of the cases. However, when listening with only one standard earbud performance was not affected. In the conditions when participants listened to high volume and to high tempo music, the auditory stop signal was also heard in significantly fewer cases. Completing a task on the mobile phone, using both handheld and handsfree sets, resulted in increased response time to an auditory stop signal and also reduced overall auditory perception. Furthermore, handsfree operation only had minor advantages opposed to hand held operation, with only response time to an auditory stop signal resulting in faster performance. This is likely to be related to the fact that both hands could be used for braking.It is concluded that listening to music worsens auditory perception, in particular if in-earbuds are used. Furthermore, both handheld and handsfree operation of mobile phones has a negative effect on perception, potentially forming a threat to cyclist traffic safety.     

Exploring the interactions between modal options,destination access,and travel mood

A good understanding of subjectively experienced well-being in daily travel is critical for the design and evaluation of transportation policies and programs. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between how we travel and how we feel during travel. However, people’s travel mood is not only determined by their trip characteristics but also their potential mobility—the capacity of being mobile. Using the data collected via a smartphone application in Minneapolis-St. Paul area, we measure potential mobility in two aspects—modal options and destination access and reveal that people in households with better access to cars and alternative transportation modes are, all else equal, more likely to report more positive moods and fewer negative moods during travel. In addition, people living in neighborhoods with greater access to destinations are less likely to feel stress when traveling. We also find that associations between mode and mood are moderated by modal options and destination access. These findings confirm the importance of explicitly considering modal options and destination access in policy debates and planning initiatives addressing transportation and well-being. In doing so, they demonstrate the relevance of Sen’s Capabilities Approach to transportation planning.     

The building recognition and analysis of remote sensing image based on depth belief network

The deep belief network model, which is widely used in deep learning, consists of a multi-layer constrained Boltzmann machine and a back-propagation network. The authors have conducted parameter sensitivity experiments on the number of iterations, the number of hidden layers and the number of hidden layer nodes in the DBN network for remote sensing image classification, and obtained a set of optimal parameter setting schemes. Moreover, the DBN algorithm has been enhanced with an improved Dropout strategy. The improved Dropout strategy selects only part of the data to clear the weight at a time, and a local area randomly clear strategy is adopted, which will save the local information of the image itself, and enhance the generalization ability of the model. In order to verify the advantages of the improved DBN algorithm model, the classification results of DBN, KNN, random forest and SVM have been compared. And the results show that classification accuracy of the improved DBN has been greatly improved, which is increased by about 2.5% compared to DBN. The improved DBN classification results are processed then, including connected areas marking, noise removal, morphological transformation and edge extraction, and the boundary information of the building is obtained according to the target shape characteristics. Finally, the experiment on the morphological characteristics of the building also shows it can extract better edge information of the building.     

The impact of self-control and texting-related accidents on the relationship between mindfulness and mobile texting while driving behavior

Distracted driving behavior often occurs when drivers mindlessly send or receive text messages with their mobile devices. It is imperative to understand the relationship between mindfulness and texting while driving behavior because distracted driving behavior has led to a reported increase in texting related accidents and mortalities. Based on this report, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between mindfulness, self-control, frequency of texting-related accidents, near-miss accidents, and texting while driving behavior. Using a total of 609 adults with an average age of 34.11 (SD = 12.21), results showed that observe, aware, and describe were related to texting while driving. Additionally, we found evidence that self-control partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and texting while driving. Results also showed that near-miss texting while driving accidents moderated the relationship between mindfulness and texting behavior while driving. The observed inverse relationship between mindfulness and texting while driving can increase researchers’ understanding of self-control’s role in vehicular accidents triggered by texting. Implications and limitations are offered, along with suggestions for future research.