Sorry, I’m Late; I’m not in the mood: Negative emotions lengthen driving time

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

A considerable amount of research has shown that anger degenerates driving performance [e.g., 1, 2, 3], but little research has empirically shown other affective effects on driving. To investigate angry and sad effects on driving, we conducted a driving simulation study with induced affective states. In cognitive psychology, there is the “sadder but wiser” phenomenon, but given that driving is a complex, dynamic task that engages not only basic cognitive processes, but also other critical elements such as decision making, action selection, and motor control, it might result in different outcomes. Thirty-two participants were induced into sad, angry, or neutral affective states and asked to complete a driving task using a medium fidelity driving simulator. Measures included driving performance, subjective mood ratings, and a NASA-TLX workload index. Results showed that participants in the angry and sad conditions took significantly more time to complete the driving task compared to the neutral condition.

Publisher's Statement

Copyright © 2015, Springer Nature. Publisher's version of record: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20373-7_22

Publication Title

Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics

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