Effect of a concurrent auditory task on visual search performance in a driving-related image-flicker task.
The effect of a concurrent auditory task on visual search was investigated using an image-flicker technique. Participants were undergraduate university students with normal or corrected-to-normal vision who searched for changes in images of driving scenes that involved either driving-related (e.g., traffic light) or driving-unrelated (e.g., mailbox) scene elements. The results indicated that response times were significantly slower if the search was accompanied by a concurrent auditory task. In addition, slower overall responses to scenes involving driving-unrelated changes suggest that the underlying process affected by the concurrent auditory task is strategic in nature. These results were interpreted in terms of their implications for using a cellular telephone while driving. Actual or potential applications of this research include the development of safer in-vehicle communication devices.
Richard
Christian M
CM
Human Factors Transportation Center, Battelle Seattle Research Center, Washington 98105-3949, USA. richardc@battelle.org
Wright
Richard D
RD
Ee
Cheryl
C
Prime
Steven L
SL
Shimizu
Yujiro
Y
Vavrik
John
J
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013689:Telephone; D014796:Visual Perception