Age Related Changes in Cognitive Response Style in the Driving Task Part II

This project explored the patterns in drivers’ physiological arousal to periods of heightened cognitive workload. While in many cases heart rate increases with cognitive demand, results from a set of driving simulation studies completed as part of this project illustrate that situations exist where an increase in overt cognitive demand does not result in an increase in heart rate. In essence, this research suggests that there are cognitively demanding situations where heart rate may increase or decrease, depending on how attention is directed or allocated. In the first phase of this project, other than having consistently higher heart rates, what appeared to differentiate late middle age and younger drivers was not so much a specific pattern of response to a cell phone task, but the relative distribution of individuals showing increases, decreases, or unchanged heart rates. As part of this project, a subsequent assessment considered data on a continuous performance task and found consistent results.

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• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26583
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  New England University Transportation Center

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 40-279
  Cambridge, MA  United States  01239

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Reimer, Bryan
• Publication Date: 2013

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Pagination: 3p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Attention; Cellular telephones; Cognition; Driver performance; Driving simulators; Heart rate; Physiological aspects
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01502034
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: MITR20-5
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 23 2013 7:53AM