Associations between personality and driving behavior are mediated by mind-wandering tendency: A cross-national comparison of Australian and Italian drivers

ObjectiveThis study examined the associations between personality traits (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) and aberrant driving behaviors in a sample of Australian and Italian drivers by investigating the mediation effect of mind-wandering (MW) tendency.BackgroundAlthough unsafe driving behaviors are influenced by both a driver’s MW tendency and personality traits, the potential interaction between these variables and their association with aberrant driving behaviors has not been previously investigated.MethodNine-hundred and four active drivers (n = 452 Australians, n = 452 Italians) completed an online survey related to their self-reported personality traits, driving behaviors, and MW tendency.ResultsA multi-group path analysis showed that MW tendency significantly mediated the effects of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness on aberrant driving behavior with invariances across nationality groups.ConclusionThese results suggest that the association between personality traits and aberrant driving behaviors is partially explained by a driver’s MW tendency while driving. Further research is needed to understand these relationships using objective measures of MW while driving (e.g., the probe-caught method). The findings of this study suggest that the assessment of personality traits may have important implications for inattentive and distracted driving and fitness-to-drive evaluation purposes.     

汉语阅读障碍高危儿童的早期筛选

通过对309名平均年龄为3岁半的儿童(35～49个月)进行词汇、语素识别、句法、非词重复和看图说词5个任务的测试,探索了汉语阅读障碍高危儿童的早期筛选方法。结果显示高危儿童在所有任务上都显著落后于正常儿童;句法缺陷和语音缺陷所占比例最大;高危儿童存在的缺陷数量越多,则测验成绩越差。这一结果对汉语阅读障碍高危儿童的早期干预具有一定的理论和实践意义。     

The Influence of Physical Elevation in Buildings on Risk Preferences: Evidence from a Pilot and Four Field Studies

Little empirical research has been reported on the role of spatial positioning inside buildings on consumer behavior. Based on embodied cognition literature, we propose that elevation from street level influences risk preferences. In a pilot study and four field studies involving financial decisions with both hypothetical and real payoffs, we find evidence that high physical elevation increases risk‐seeking tendencies. Furthermore, we demonstrate that elevation leads to riskier behavior by increasing sensitivity to power. Finally, we establish a boundary condition for the impact of elevation on risk preferences by demonstrating that the effect attenuates when accessibility of physical elevation is low. These findings show that a subtle environmental parameter—physical elevation from street level—can influence human psychological states and consequently affect decisions.     

The perceived criticality of different time headways is depending on velocity

Time headway (THW) presumably represents a velocity-independent measure of safe following distances during car-following. However, studies using on-road data show that drivers decrease their THWs as velocity increases (e.g., Brackstone, Waterson, & McDonald, 2009). This contradicts recent findings of simulator-based studies suggesting independence of velocity and chosen THW (Siebert, Oehl, & Pfister, 2014; Siebert, Oehl, Bersch, & Pfister, 2017). This study aimed at investigating the relationship between velocity and subjective risk of different THWs using an experimental setup with a motion-based driving simulator. N = 29 participants followed a preceding vehicle with five different velocities ranging from 30 km/h to 140 km/h in urban, rural and highway environments. At each velocity level, drivers were instructed to follow with three different THWs (0.7 s, 1.1 s and 1.5 s). Subjective criticality ratings were analysed for the different combinations of these independent variables (IV1: velocity, IV2: THW). Drivers rated situations with short THWs as more critical when following with slower velocities compared to higher velocities. These results show that the criticality of theoretically velocity-independent THWs is indeed depending on velocity. These findings have both theoretical implications, such as a better understanding of drivers’ car following behavior and risk acceptance, and practical implications as they may be used in the design of automated driving functions.     

Acceptability and feasibility of a brief substance use intervention for adolescents in Cape Town,South Africa: A pilot study

Substance use is prevalent among South African adolescents, but few interventions exist to reduce risk of harm. This study assesses the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a brief intervention for reducing adolescent substance use and other risk behaviours. This single-arm feasibility test recruited 30 substance-using adolescents and their primary caregiver. Participants received separate interventions (2 sessions for adolescents, 1 session for caregivers), with a subsample randomly selected for post-intervention interviews. Feasibility was measured by the proportion of eligible adolescents who were enrolled and retained in the study. Interviews explored acceptability, and changes in outcomes from baseline to 1-month follow-up assessed preliminary effects of the intervention. Thirty of 43 (69.8%) eligible adolescents and their caregivers were enrolled, with 29 adolescents (96.7%) and 28 caregivers (93.3%) completing the intervention. Twenty-eight adolescents (93.3%) and 29 caregivers (96.7%) were retained at follow-up. Frequency of alcohol, cannabis use and delinquent-type behaviours decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up. Participants appreciated the intervention content and delivery and felt that it facilitated behaviour change. Suggestions for improving the intervention were provided. This study found that the intervention is feasible, acceptable and had promising effects on adolescent behaviour. Efficacy must be established with a randomised controlled trial.     

Association of preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction with childhood motor development: Brisa cohort,Brazil

The present study investigated the association between preterm birth PT conditions, intrauterine growth restriction IUGR and the combination of both PT-IUGR with infant motor development. A cohort with 1006 children was monitored during prenatal, at birth, and two years of age. Bayley-III screening was used to evaluate of fine and gross motor skills. The data did not indicate an increased risk for motor delays in the PT or IUGR, composed mainly by mild cases. However, the combination of the conditions PT-IUGR increased the risk of delays in motor, which emphasizes the importance of monitoring the motor development of the group.     

Risky business: Psychopathy,framing effects,and financial outcomes

Using a risky-choice framing paradigm, we investigated (a) the extent to which psychopathic features shape behavioral responses to potential losses vs. potential gains and (b) how these relations bear on real-world economic decision-making in a community sample (N =  475). Associations among psychopathic features, risk-seeking, sensitivity to framing, and financial practices were also examined. Disinhibition manifested positive relations with risk-seeking and maladaptive financial practices, whereas boldness manifested positive relations with risk-seeking and adaptive financial practices. Individuals high in disinhibition and/or meanness were significantly less likely to endorse risk seeking in negative frames. Results provisionally suggest boundary conditions for framing effects; in particular, certain psychopathic traits may render individuals modestly less susceptible to framing or bias them towards risk-taking in positive frames.     

Longitudinal Effects of Latino Parent Cultural Stress,Depressive Symptoms,and Family Functioning on Youth Emotional Well‐Being and Health Risk Behaviors

U.S. Latino parents can face cultural stressors in the form of acculturative stress, perceived discrimination, and a negative context of reception. It stands to reason that these cultural stressors may negatively impact Latino youth's emotional well‐being and health risk behaviors by increasing parents' depressive symptoms and compromising the overall functioning of the family. To test this possibility, we analyzed data from a six‐wave longitudinal study with 302 recently immigrated (<5 years in the United States) Latino parents (74% mothers, M_age = 41.09 years) and their adolescent children (47% female, M_age = 14.51 years). Results of a cross‐lagged analysis indicated that parent cultural stress predicted greater parent depressive symptoms (and not vice versa). Both parent cultural stress and depressive symptoms, in turn, predicted lower parent‐reported family functioning, which mediated the links from parent cultural stress and depressive symptoms to youth alcohol and cigarette use. Parent cultural stress also predicted lower youth‐reported family functioning, which mediated the link from parent cultural stress to youth self‐esteem. Finally, mediation analyses indicated that parent cultural stress predicted youth alcohol use by a way of parent depressive symptoms and parent‐reported family functioning. Our findings point to parent depressive symptoms and family functioning as key mediators in the links from parent cultural stress to youth emotional well‐being and health risk behaviors. We discuss implications for research and preventive interventions.     

真实和虚拟金钱奖赏影响风险决策行为*

在风险情境下人类如何决策是长久以来心理学和经济学研究中一个极具挑战性的核心问题。众多研究采用真实或虚拟金钱作为奖赏强化物来探索风险决策行为的过程和机制,但对金钱奖赏真实性如何影响决策了解很少。仿真气球冒险任务(BART：Balloon Analogue Risk Task)可以在实验室条件下有效评估个体在真实社会中的风险行为。本研究采用 BART任务,通过两个实验探讨和比较了真实与虚拟金钱奖赏对风险决策行为的影响。实验一的结果发现,与虚拟金钱奖赏相比,真实金钱奖赏情境下的风险决策更容易受上一次决策结果的影响,上一次决策失败会导致被试的风险偏好水平显著降低(平均吹气球的次数显著减少),同时决策失败(气球吹爆)次数也显著减少,提示真实金钱奖赏下有更强的反馈学习效应。实验二重复了实验一的结果,并进一步发现,虚拟金钱奖赏的幅度对被试的风险决策行为没有影响,而真实金钱奖赏的幅度能显著改变被试的风险决策行为,较大幅度的真实金钱奖赏可以显著降低被试的风险偏好水平,但这种奖赏幅度对风险偏好的调控效应只对感觉寻求水平低的被试有效,感觉寻求水平高的被试不受影响。这些发现表明真实与虚拟金钱奖赏对风险决策行为有不同的影响。我们的结果可以用风险决策的后悔理论或齐当别模型来解释。