Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving
Abstract While attention has consistently been shown to be biased toward threatening objects in experimental settings, our understanding of how attention is modulated when the observer is in an anxious or aroused state and how this ultimately affects behavior is limited. In real-world environments,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Cognitive Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00332-y |
| _version_ | 1818979236531142656 |
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| author | Andy Jeesu Kim Hananeh Alambeigi Tara Goddard Anthony D. McDonald Brian A. Anderson |
| author_facet | Andy Jeesu Kim Hananeh Alambeigi Tara Goddard Anthony D. McDonald Brian A. Anderson |
| author_sort | Andy Jeesu Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract While attention has consistently been shown to be biased toward threatening objects in experimental settings, our understanding of how attention is modulated when the observer is in an anxious or aroused state and how this ultimately affects behavior is limited. In real-world environments, automobile drivers can sometimes carry negative perceptions toward bicyclists that share the road. It is unclear whether bicyclist encounters on a roadway lead to physiological changes and attentional biases that ultimately influence driving behavior. Here, we examined whether participants in a high-fidelity driving simulator exhibited an arousal response in the presence of a bicyclist and how this modulated eye movements and driving behavior. We hypothesized that bicyclists would evoke a robust arousal and orienting response, the strength of which would be associated with safer driving behavior. The results revealed that encountering a bicyclist evoked negative arousal by both self-report and physiological measures. Physiological and eye-tracking measures were themselves unrelated, however, being independently associated with safer driving behavior. Our findings offer a real-world demonstration of how arousal and attentional prioritization can lead to adaptive behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T16:56:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81183f4a63f84db48c2782465663813f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2365-7464 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T16:56:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cognitive Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-81183f4a63f84db48c2782465663813f2022-12-21T19:32:44ZengSpringerOpenCognitive Research2365-74642021-10-016111310.1186/s41235-021-00332-yBicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer drivingAndy Jeesu Kim0Hananeh Alambeigi1Tara Goddard2Anthony D. McDonald3Brian A. Anderson4Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M UniversityIndustrial & Systems Engineering, Texas A&M UniversityLandscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M UniversityIndustrial & Systems Engineering, Texas A&M UniversityDepartment of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M UniversityAbstract While attention has consistently been shown to be biased toward threatening objects in experimental settings, our understanding of how attention is modulated when the observer is in an anxious or aroused state and how this ultimately affects behavior is limited. In real-world environments, automobile drivers can sometimes carry negative perceptions toward bicyclists that share the road. It is unclear whether bicyclist encounters on a roadway lead to physiological changes and attentional biases that ultimately influence driving behavior. Here, we examined whether participants in a high-fidelity driving simulator exhibited an arousal response in the presence of a bicyclist and how this modulated eye movements and driving behavior. We hypothesized that bicyclists would evoke a robust arousal and orienting response, the strength of which would be associated with safer driving behavior. The results revealed that encountering a bicyclist evoked negative arousal by both self-report and physiological measures. Physiological and eye-tracking measures were themselves unrelated, however, being independently associated with safer driving behavior. Our findings offer a real-world demonstration of how arousal and attentional prioritization can lead to adaptive behavior.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00332-yAttentional biasArousalAnxietyDriving simulator |
| spellingShingle | Andy Jeesu Kim Hananeh Alambeigi Tara Goddard Anthony D. McDonald Brian A. Anderson Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving Cognitive Research Attentional bias Arousal Anxiety Driving simulator |
| title | Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| title_full | Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| title_fullStr | Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| title_short | Bicyclist-evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| title_sort | bicyclist evoked arousal and greater attention to bicyclists independently promote safer driving |
| topic | Attentional bias Arousal Anxiety Driving simulator |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00332-y |
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