title: Go fast! Reaction time differences between adults and adolescents in evaluating risky traffic situations.
abstract: This study investigated the hypothesis that adults are faster than adolescents in responding to risks. Twenty-six adolescents (M(age) = 15 years) and 26 adults (M(age) = 47 years) responded to risky situations (e.g. 'Is it a good idea to drive a car while having drunk alcohol?') and non-risky situations (e.g. '… wear a helmet while riding a moped?') in a choice reaction time task. Adults responded 110 ms faster to both risky and non-risky questions than adolescents. Both adolescents and adults responded on average 100 ms faster to risky questions than to non-risky questions. The results of this study suggest a possible explanation for the increased accident involvement of adolescents in traffic.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feenstra
authors.forename: Robert A C
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ruiter
authors.forename: Gerjo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kok
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time; D012306:Risk