An evaluation of the effectiveness of countermeasures for improving the safety of dilemma zones: A driving simulator study

The main objective of this driving simulator study is to analyze the behavior of the driver at the start of the yellow signal of a signalized rural intersection and identify the most effective countermeasures for tackling the dilemma zone, namely an area on the intersection approach where vehicles at the start of the yellow phase can neither safely stop before the stop line nor cross the intersection. The following countermeasures were tested in the study on a sample of 48 drivers: green signal countdown timers, GSCT (C₁); a new pattern of vertical and horizontal warning signs (C₂); and an advanced on-board driver assistance system based on augmented reality (AR) and connected vehicle technologies (C₃). These countermeasures were tested and compared to a baseline condition (B) where no countermeasures were applied. Based on the results of this study, the C₂ and C₃ countermeasures have proven to be valid tools for reducing driver indecision when approaching signalized intersections at the start of the yellow signal. In fact, using C₂ and C₃, the length of the dilemma zone was equal to 30 m and 36 m, respectively, with a reduction of about 50%, as compared to the baseline condition (B). Moreover, a reduced number of false behaviors was recorded, as well as a greater consistency in driver decision-making behaviors. Conversely, the C₁ countermeasure did not lead to a significant improvement in the dilemma zone: an unnecessary increase in early stop rates was recorded, resulting in reduced intersection efficiency and operations.     

The relationship between simulator sickness and driving performance in a high-fidelity simulator

Driving simulators are highly valuable tools for various applications such as research, training, and rehabilitation. However, they are also known to cause simulator sickness, a special form of traditional motion sickness. Common side effects of simulator sickness include nausea, headache, dizziness, eye-strain, and/or disorientation, all symptoms which may negatively impact driving performance. The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between simulator sickness and driving performance obtained in a high-fidelity driving simulator. Twenty-one healthy participants were engaged in a simulated driving task containing rural, city, and highway sections for approx. 25 min. Participants were asked to drive naturally while obeying traffic rules and completing common driving maneuvers (including reactions to sudden events). Driving performance was evaluated based on various driving measures, such as lane positioning, speed measures, following distance, or the number of steering reversals. Simulator sickness was measured before, during, and after the simulated drive using a combination of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and the Fast Motion Sickness scale. Overall, correlations between the level of simulator sickness and driving performance measures were low to moderate (r’s from -0.37 to 0.40) and were not significant. Additionally, participants who reported higher levels of simulator sickness did not differ with regards to their driving performance from those who reported lower simulator sickness scores. Our results suggest that the presence of simulator sickness is not strongly related to performance in a driving simulator.     

Effect of multiple monitoring requests on vigilance and readiness by measuring eye movement and takeover performance

Drivers do not need to supervise the L3 automated driving system but have to resume dynamic driving tasks when necessary, where the takeover request system plays a crucial role in alerting drivers to take over control. Previous studies have investigated the feasibility of the two-stage takeover system, which divides the takeover request system into monitoring requests and takeover requests. However, whether it will affect drivers’ situation awareness and takeover performance if the monitoring request is issued multiple times without the takeover request has not been fully considered. This research conducted a driving simulation study to investigate the effect of multiple monitoring requests on participants’ vigilance to monitoring requests and readiness for takeover requests by measuring their eye movement and takeover performance. Forty-two participants experienced three kinds of takeover conditions: no monitoring request, once monitoring request, and four monitoring requests. Simultaneously, the eye movement and takeover performance of participants were recorded and analyzed. Results showed that participants gained sufficient situation awareness in the monitoring request phase and showed better takeover performance in the two-stage takeover system than the single-stage takeover system. However, participants’ vigilance to the monitoring request and readiness for the takeover request decreased after experiencing multiple monitoring requests. Specifically, 62% and 59% of participants put their hands on the steering wheel during the monitoring request phase when experiencing the first monitoring request, which decreased to 35% after experiencing four monitoring requests. Moreover, after experiencing multiple monitoring requests, more participants shifted their attention to non-driving-related tasks after first observing the road and with a reduced percentage of time in the road center. These findings suggest that the monitoring request should be more reasonable to avoid reducing the vigilance and readiness of drivers to take advantage of the two-stage takeover system effectively.     

Critical reflections on second-generation mindfulness-based interventions

ObjectivesThe purpose of this paper is to provide a critical introduction on Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Interventions (SG-MBIs) to sport and performance psychology scholars and practitioners.MethodThis essay is written as a commentary on Roychowdhury et al.’s, (2021, this issue) article in this issue. Specifically, I apply theoretical insights from Roychowdhury et al., (2021, this issue) to the practical model of SG-MBIs.ResultsI find that SG-MBIs attempt to respond to ethical concerns with the ways that mindfulness has been commodified, secularized, and universalized through appeals to cultural authenticity.DiscussionWhile acknowledging the cultural contexts from which practices like mindfulness have been taken is important, appeals to cultural authenticity often reproduce fixed and essentializing constructions of culture and are easily coopted by neoliberal multiculturalism.ConclusionAs sport and performance psychology professionals reflect on the next generation of mindfulness-based interventions, it will be important to attend to the contextual flexibility of neoliberalism to universalize and essentialize.     

What do we know about the effects of mental training applied to combat sports? A systematic review

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of mental training applied to combat sports athletes.MethodsA systematic review was conducted, following the criteria recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, from inception up to February 2021, with an electronic search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus databases. As eligibility criteria, this review included original studies that carried out any type of mental training, with or without a control group, acute or chronic, in combat sports athletes, of both sexes, age >16 and < 45 years old, from any competitive level, and evaluated the effect of these interventions on psychological measures. The quality assessment was conducted through the application of the Cochrane Collaboration tool.ResultsIn total, 1921 studies were found and after application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were included in this review. A total of 417 subjects were investigated from the 21 studies. As results, despite the variations in the type and characteristics of the interventions, studies showed that mental training seems to improve anxiety, mood, self-confidence, emotions, cohesion, emotional balance, and relaxation, in addition to physical and athletic performance.ConclusionsThis systematic review based on the evidence from the selected studies indicates that mental training seems to be beneficial for athletes in combat modalities, while combat sports can benefit from mental training in preparation, competition, and recovery. However, the interpretation of these findings must consider that there is limited scientific production with good quality studies investigating the effects of psychological intervention protocols in athletes of combat sports in different combat modalities.Prospero register numberCRD42020169793.     

Simultaneous and alternate combinations of action-observation and motor imagery involve a common lower-level sensorimotor process

Combining the motor simulation techniques of action observation and motor imagery (AOMI) is known to enhance motor performance more than when these techniques are presented in isolation. The present study examined the involvement of lower-level sensorimotor processes for the improvement in a dart-throwing task using AOMI. Novice participants (n = 70) were assessed on their dart-throwing both before and after a six-week AOMI training intervention that was contingent upon the random allocation of groups. Participants were randomly allocated into groups involving AOMI, where they observed either a congruent action, incongruent action or fixation cross (control), while simultaneously or alternately imagining the dart-throwing task. Dart-throwing performance was significantly more improved for the simultaneous- and alternate-congruent groups compared to the simultaneous-fixation and control groups. There was no indication of improvement by any of the other groups. This improvement appeared to coincide with lower EMG activity at the agonist and antagonist muscles, which would indicate greater movement efficiency. The findings suggest that AOMI involves a common lower-level sensorimotor process, which can lead to motor facilitation or interference, dependent upon whether the simulation techniques are congruent or incongruent with each other, respectively. What's more, this feature does not appear to differ as a function of the structure of delivery (i.e., simultaneous vs. alternate).     

Functional relations and cognitive psychology: Lessons from human performance and animal research

We consider requirements for effective interdisciplinary communication and explore alternative interpretations of “building bridges between functional and cognitive psychology.” If the bridges are intended to connect radical behaviourism and cognitive psychology, or functional contextualism and cognitive psychology, the efforts are unlikely to be successful. But if the bridges are intended to connect functional relationships and cognitive theory, no construction is needed because the bridges already exist within cognitive psychology. We use human performance and animal research to illustrate the latter point and to counter the claim that the functional approach is unique in offering a close relationship between science and practice. Effective communication will be enhanced and, indeed, may only occur if the goal of functional contextualism extends beyond just “the advancement of functional contextual cognitive and behavioral science and practice” to “the advancement of cognitive and behavioral science and practice” without restriction.     

Resilience and Subjective Wellbeing: A Psychometric Evaluation in Young Australian Adults

Objective

Resilience is an important and underdeveloped area of research, and there are few studies that describe levels of resilience among youth samples. A major aim of this research is to explore the utility of an adapted form of the 10‐item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and to clarify the association between this construct and a robust measure of subjective wellbeing.

Method

A representative sample of 1000 Victorians aged 16–25 years participated in a telephone interview comprising the modified 10‐item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index.

Results

The modified 10‐item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale demonstrated adequate inter‐item reliability and factored as intended. A moderate, positive correlation was found between the modified 10‐item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index. Significance testing revealed group differences for gender, age, and annual household income. The results are also used to establish theoretical “normal” ranges for resilience in Victoria's youth population.

Conclusion

The results from this study support the modified 10‐item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale as a valid and reliable measure of young people's resilience using traditional psychometric tests. Moreover, this is the first study to describe the levels of resilience among Victorian youths and to evaluate these data alongside a robust measure of subjective wellbeing. The implications of the findings for government policy and service delivery are discussed.     

Do Perceptual Instructions Lead to Enhanced Performance Relative to Behavioral Instructions?

As people we commonly instruct people in terms of physical actions to carry out to perform any task. However, according to perceptual control theory (Powers, 1973 Powers, W. T. (1973). Behavior: The control of perception. Chicago, IL: Aldine. [Google Scholar]), human action serves to control perception. Using a drawing task, it was hypothesized that instructions describing the perceivable effects of the movement would result in greater accuracy of image drawing than those describing the movement. Participants were asked to draw images using different instructions; describing the expected perceptions and describing the movements. As predicted, it was found that describing the perceptual outcome of the task led to significantly more accurate drawings than describing the movements did. This highlights the importance of instructions based on desired perceptions when precise execution of a skill is necessary.     

自我效能感影响航线飞行安全绩效的多重中介模型

采用问卷法调查了138名民航飞行员,探讨了自我效能感对飞行安全绩效的影响,以及在这一影响过程中组织信任、组织承诺和工作投入的作用。结果显示,自我效能感对组织信任、组织承诺、工作投入和安全绩效有直接正向作用。组织信任在自我效能感对组织承诺、工作投入、安全绩效的影响中有部分中介作用。组织承诺与工作投入在自我效能感对安全绩效影响中发挥着部分中介作用。结论:自我效能感对安全绩效有直接效应,并可通过组织信任、组织承诺和工作投入对安全绩效产生间接影响。