The effects of adaptive cruise control (ACC) headway time on young-experienced drivers' overtaking tendency in a driving simulator

The preference to maintain a certain desired speed is perhaps the most prevalent explanation for why a driver of a manually driven car decides to overtake a lead vehicle. Still, the motivation for overtaking is also affected by other factors such as aggressiveness, competitiveness, or sensation-seeking caused by following another vehicle. Whether such motivational factors for overtaking play a role in partially automated driving is yet to be determined. This study had three goals: (i) to investigate whether and how a driver's tendency to overtake a lead vehicle changes when driving a vehicle equipped with an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system. (ii) To study how such tendencies change when the headway time configuration of the ACC system varies. (iii) To examine how the manipulation of the speed and speed variance of the lead vehicle affect drivers' tendencies to overtake a lead vehicle. We conducted two different experiments, where the second experiment followed the first experiment's results. In each experiment, participants drove three 10–12 min simulated drives under light traffic conditions in a driving simulator under manual and level one (L1) automation driving conditions. The automation condition included an ACC with two headway time configurations. In the first experiment, it was 1 sec and 3 secs, and in the second, it was 1 sec and 2 secs. Each drive included six passing opportunities representing three different speeds of the lead vehicle (−3 km/h, +3 km/h, +6 km/h relative to the participant), with or without speed variance. Results show that drivers tended to overtake a lead vehicle more often in manual mode than in automated driving modes. In the first experiment, ACC with a headway time of 1 sec led to more overtaking events than ACC with 3 secs headway time. In addition, the relative speed of the lead vehicle and its speed variability affected overtaking tendencies. In the second experiment, the relative speed of the lead vehicle and its speed variability affected overtaking tendencies only when interacting with each other and with driving configuration. When the speed of the lead vehicle was +3 km/h and included variability, more overtaking events occurred in manual mode than both automation modes. This work has shown that driving with ACC might help reduce overtaking frequencies and more considerable when the headway time is set to 3 secs.     

Replies to Deng,Lee, and Skow

This paper is a contribution to a book symposium on my book Experiencing Time. I reply to comments on the book by Natalja Deng, Geoffrey Lee and Bradford Skow. Although several chapters of the book are discussed, the main focus of my reply is on Chapters 2 and 6. In Chapter 2 I argue that the putative mind-independent passage of time could not be experienced, and from this I develop an argument against the A-theory of time. In Chapter 6 I offer one part of an explanation of why we are disposed to think that time passes, relating to the supposedly ‘dynamic’ quality of experienced change. Deng, Lee, and Skow’s comments help me to clarify several issues, add some new thoughts, and make a new distinction that was needed, and I acknowledge, as I did in the book, that certain arguments in Chapter 6 are not conclusive; but I otherwise concede very little regarding the main claims and arguments defended in the book.     

Experience Sampling Methodology reveals similarities in the experience of passage of time in young and elderly adults

Many people accept the idea that time seems to pass more quickly as they get older, as if this is a psychological reality. However, systematic investigations of differences in judgments of passage of time between young and elderly people are very rare and contradictory. The present study examined the experience of passage of time in daily life in young and elderly people using Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM), with 8 alerts per day for 5 days being delivered by smartphones. At each alert, a short questionnaire was filled in, asking questions about passage of present time, affective state, arousal level, and attention to current activities, among others. Our ESM study found no difference between the young and the old participants in the judgment of passage of present time. Irrespective of the participants' age, the experience of passage of time in every-day life was significantly related to affective states and current activities when they captured attention.     

Culture and decision‐making: Investigating cultural variations in the East Asian and North American online decision‐making processes

Research in cross‐cultural psychology suggests that East Asians hold holistic thinking styles whereas North Americans hold analytic thinking styles. The present study examines the influence of cultural thinking styles on the online decision‐making processes for Hong Kong Chinese and European Canadians, with and without time constraints. We investigated the online decision‐making processes in terms of (1) information search speed, (2) quantity of information used, and (3) type of information used. Results show that, without time constraints, Hong Kong Chinese, compared to European Canadians, spent less time on decisions and parsed through information more efficiently, and Hong Kong Chinese attended to both important and less important information, whereas European Canadians selectively focused on important information. No cultural differences were found in the quantity of information used. When under time constraints, all cultural variations disappeared. The dynamics of cultural differences and similarities in decision‐making are discussed.     

Explanatory factors of distorted perceptions of travel time in tram

This study has two aims. The first is to research the factors that influence deviations in perceptions of travel time with respect to actual travel time by analyzing distorted perceptions of travel time in tram. The second aim is to find out whether these explanatory factors are different for the two segments of users according to the sign of errors in their travel time perceptions, i.e. those who overperceive and those who underperceive travel time.This work is based on an internet survey carried out on students from the University of La Laguna, Spain, in May 2009, using revealed preference data. Several linear regression models were estimated using the backward elimination method of selecting variables. The variable called “perception error rate” is proposed as a measure of distorted perceptions of in-vehicle travel time and is explained as a function of actual in-vehicle travel time and a series of other novel variables, such as the perception of other travel time components (access, waiting, egress), as well as certain characteristics of the trip and traveler. The results obtained provide evidence that some of the variables that explain the distorted perceptions of travelers are different between the overperceiving and underperceiving samples. This finding shows that estimating just one model with a total sample could lead to erroneous conclusions. Since travelers make decisions based on their perceived travel times, transport policy should focus on overperceiving travelers, and specifically on those who travel frequently. According to our results, policies should be aimed at facilitating access to stops, increasing frequency of service to reduce waiting time and decreasing the relative advantages associated with the use of private vehicles. This last point is because travelers overperceive travel time by tram more when accessing tram stops by car.     

公正世界信念对大学生学习成绩的影响:时间管理的解释

为探讨公正世界信念对大学生学习成绩的影响,并说明时间管理因素在二者关系中的作用机制,研究1以205名大学生为被试,采用问卷法探讨了公正世界信念通过时间管理对大学生实际学习成绩起作用的机制。结果表明,时间管理倾向在公正世界信念和学习成绩的关系中起部分中介作用。研究2随机选取120名大学生为被试,采用启动实验范式考察了公正世界信念对时间规划的影响。结果表明,当启动不公正信念时,个体计划学习投入时间显著减少,同时伴随娱乐等其他时间增加。总之,公正世界信念可部分通过影响大学生的时间管理进而影响其学习成绩,而且大学生对不公正信念更敏感。     

道德动机动态系统理论：一种道德发展的新科尔伯格取向

在科尔伯格道德认知发展阶段理论、动态系统理论和自我决定理论基础上,Kaplan提出了道德动机的动态系统理论,把道德动机界定为认知和情绪成分自我组织和自我调节的动态发展过程。该理论有其特定的提出背景、基本观点和主要内容,并且具有一定的实证证据支持。未来研究应着力解决道德认知与情绪的关系、环境因素的影响、横断研究与纵向研究的结合以及研究工具的完善等问题。     

Investigating the structure of autobiographical memory using reaction times

The study investigated the structure of autobiographical memory using reaction time measures. A total of 18 participants took photographs over their summer holidays and then reacted to pairs of these photographs displayed via a computer. They also subsequently sorted their photographs according to the autobiographical themes and events with which they were associated. When photographic sequence and the physical similarities in the photographs were controlled for by considering the results of “stranger” participants who were unfamiliar with the photographs, reaction times were significantly faster to pairs of photographs from the same theme or event. The results are consistent with currently held assumptions about the structure of autobiographical memory. Furthermore, the results suggest that reaction time measures may provide a valuable means by which aspects of autobiographical memory can be explored.