Mixed Signals: Stimulus-Response Compatibility and Car Indicator Light Configuration

This article explores the placement of turn signals, also called indicator lights, on automobiles. The author notes that, among other factors (e.g. luminance), the spatial configuration of these lights facilitates their interpretation (e.g. the right indicator flashes for right turns). The author reports that several modern models of car confound this relationship by placing indicators medially relative to the headlights. Hence, the left indicator is placed to the right of the left headlight, for example. The author describes two computer-based experiments that used simple, schematic representations of the front of a car upon which an amber indicator could appear. Participants (n = 15) were required to speedily determine the direction in which the car intended to turn. Results showed that there were slower, more erroneous responses to the indicated direction in the newer, medial format, than for the standard configuration. The author concludes that car designers must keep in mind that indicators are inherently a safety feature and should be designed by how fluently they can be processed by the human visual system, not just for aesthetic appeal.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/08884080
• Authors:
  • Bayliss, Andrew P
• Publication Date: 2007-3-22

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 669-676
• Serial:
  • Applied Cognitive Psychology
  • Volume: 21
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0888-4080
  • EISSN: 1099-0720
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0720

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Cognition; Design; Headlamps; Safety equipment; Simulation; Turn signals; Turning traffic; Visual perception
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01084582
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 28 2008 8:09AM