Hierarchical Control and Driving

We manipulated primary task predictability and secondary task workload in the context of driving an automobile. As the driving task became less predictable (by adding wind gusts), more attention was required to maintain lane position. When drivers concurrently engaged in a secondary cognitive task i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2014-06, Vol.143 (3), p.953-958
Main Authors: Medeiros-Ward, Nathan, Cooper, Joel M., Strayer, David L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Adult
Applied psychology
Attention
Attention - physiology
Automobile driving
Automobile Driving - psychology
Automobiles
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Driving Behavior
Executive Function - physiology
Experimental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Male
Multitasking
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Task analysis
Transportation. City planning
Vigilance. Attention. Sleep
Wind
Young Adult
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Summary:We manipulated primary task predictability and secondary task workload in the context of driving an automobile. As the driving task became less predictable (by adding wind gusts), more attention was required to maintain lane position. When drivers concurrently engaged in a secondary cognitive task in the windy driving condition, attention was diverted from driving and the ability to maintain lane position was degraded. By contrast, when the driving task was predictable (no wind), lane maintenance actually improved when a secondary cognitive task diverted attention from driving. These data provide evidence for a hierarchical control network that coordinates an interaction between automatic, encapsulated routines and limited capacity attention.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/a0035097