The effects of social interactions with in-vehicle agents on a driver's anger level, driving performance, situation awareness, and perceived workload

Myounghoon Jeon; Bruce N Walker; Thomas M Gable

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2015.03.015

The effects of social interactions with in-vehicle agents on a driver's anger level, driving performance, situation awareness, and perceived workload

Appl Ergon. 2015 Sep:50:185-99. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2015.03.015. Epub 2015 Apr 11.

Authors

Myounghoon Jeon¹, Bruce N Walker², Thomas M Gable²

Affiliations

¹ Mind Music Machine Lab, Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295, USA. Electronic address: mjeon@mtu.edu.
² Sonification Lab, School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.

PMID: 25959334
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2015.03.015

Abstract

Research has suggested that interaction with an in-vehicle software agent can improve a driver's psychological state and increase road safety. The present study explored the possibility of using an in-vehicle software agent to mitigate effects of driver anger on driving behavior. After either anger or neutral mood induction, 60 undergraduates drove in a simulator with two types of agent intervention. Results showed that both speech-based agents not only enhance driver situation awareness and driving performance, but also reduce their anger level and perceived workload. Regression models show that a driver's anger influences driving performance measures, mediated by situation awareness. The practical implications include design guidelines for the design of social interaction with in-vehicle software agents.

Keywords: In-vehicle agent; Road rage; Situation awareness.

MeSH terms

Anger*
Automobile Driving / psychology*
Automobile Driving / standards
Automobiles
Awareness
Computer Simulation
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Workload / psychology*
Young Adult