Voluntary- and Involuntary-Distraction Engagement: An Exploratory Study of Individual Differences
Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study was to explore individual differences in voluntary and involuntary driver-distraction engagement.
Background
Distractions may stem from intentional engagement in secondary tasks (voluntary) or failing to suppress non-driving-related stimuli or information (involuntary). A wealth of literature has examined voluntary distraction; involuntary distraction is not particularly well understood. Individual factors, such as age, are known to play a role in how drivers engage in distractions. However, it is unclear which individual factors are associated with voluntary- versus involuntary-distraction engagement and whether there is a relation between how drivers engage in these two distraction types.
Method
Thirty-six participants, ages 25 to 39, drove in a simulator under three conditions: voluntary distraction with a self-paced visual-manual task on a secondary display, involuntary distraction with abrupt onset of irrelevant visual-audio stimuli on the secondary display, and no distraction.
Results
The number of glances toward the secondary display under voluntary distraction was not correlated to that under involuntary distraction. The former was associated with gender, age, annual mileage, and self-reported distraction engagement; such associations were not observed for the latter. Accelerator release time in response to lead-vehicle braking was delayed similarly under both conditions.
Conclusion
Propensity to engage in voluntary distractions appears to be not related to the inability of suppressing involuntary distractions. Further, voluntary and involuntary distraction both affect braking response. These findings have implications for design of in-vehicle technologies, which may be sources of both distraction types.
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Biographies
Huei-Yen Winnie Chen is an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She received her PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto.
Liberty Hoekstra-Atwood is a human factors researcher at Battelle Memorial Institute. She received her MASc in industrial engineering at the University of Toronto, where she worked in the Human Factors and Applied Statistics Laboratory.
Birsen Donmez is an associate professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. She received her PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Iowa in 2007.
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Article first published online: February 28, 2018
Issue published: June 2018
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PubMed: 29489421
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