Mental workload and driving

The aim of this chapter is on the one hand to identify the most representative measures of subjective and objective mental workload in driving, and on the other hand to understand how the subjective and objective levels of mental workload influence the performance as a function of situation complexity and driving experience. This chapter will be useful to carry out an experimental study and to contribute to driving training improvement. In a first part, we will broach the theoretical approach about two factors of mental workload and performance, i.e. situation complexity and driving experience. Indeed, a low complex situation (e.g., highways), or conversely a high complex situation (e.g., town) can provoke an overload. Additionally, performing the driving tasks implies producing a high effort for novice drivers who haven’t totally automated the driving activity. In a second part, we will focus on subjective measures of mental workload. A comparison of questionnaires usually used in driving will allow identifying the most appropriate ones as a function of different criteria. Moreover, we will review the empirical studies to show if subjective level of mental workload is high in simple and very complex situations, especially for novice drivers compared to the experienced ones. In a third part, we will focus on physiological measures. A comparison of physiological indicators will be realized in order to identify the most correlated to mental workload. An empirical review will also take the effect of situation complexity and experience on these physiological indicators into consideration. Finally, a more nuanced comparison between subjective and physiological measures will be established from the impact on situation complexity and experience.

• Authors:
  • PAXION, Julie
  • GALY, Edith
  • BERTHELON, Catherine
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: pp.1-11
• Serial:
  • Frontiers In Psychology
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue Number: 1344
  • Publisher: Frontiers Media
  • EISSN: 1664-1078
  • Serial URL: http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/psychology

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driver experience; Driving; Psychology; Stress (Psychology)
• ITRD Terms: 2234: Charge mentale; 1855: Conduite (veh); 2225: Experience (homme); 2255: Psychologie
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01549876
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institut Francais des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Amenagement et des Reseaux (IFSTTAR)
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jan 9 2015 1:01PM