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What's skill got to do with it? Vehicle Automation and driver mental workload

What's skill got to do with it? Vehicle Automation and driver mental workload
What's skill got to do with it? Vehicle Automation and driver mental workload
Previous research has found that vehicle automation systems can reduce driver mental workload, with implications for attentional resources that can be detrimental to performance. The present paper considers how the development of automaticity within the driving task may influence performance in underload situations. Driver skill and vehicle automation were manipulated in a driving simulator, with four levels of each variable. Mental workload was assessed using a secondary task measure and eye movements were recorded to infer attentional capacity. The effects of automation on driver mental workload were quite robust across skill levels, but the most intriguing findings were from the eye movement data. It was found that, with little exception, attentional capacity and mental workload were directly related at all levels of driver skill, consistent with earlier studies. The results are discussed with reference to applied theories of cognition and the design of automation.
Attention, Automaticity, Automation, Driving, Mental workload, Resources
1366-5847
1324-1339
Young, M.S.
3f79589e-2000-4cb0-832a-6eba54f50130
Stanton, N.A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
Young, M.S.
3f79589e-2000-4cb0-832a-6eba54f50130
Stanton, N.A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd

Young, M.S. and Stanton, N.A. (2007) What's skill got to do with it? Vehicle Automation and driver mental workload. Ergonomics, 50 (8), 1324-1339. (doi:10.1080/00140130701318855).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Previous research has found that vehicle automation systems can reduce driver mental workload, with implications for attentional resources that can be detrimental to performance. The present paper considers how the development of automaticity within the driving task may influence performance in underload situations. Driver skill and vehicle automation were manipulated in a driving simulator, with four levels of each variable. Mental workload was assessed using a secondary task measure and eye movements were recorded to infer attentional capacity. The effects of automation on driver mental workload were quite robust across skill levels, but the most intriguing findings were from the eye movement data. It was found that, with little exception, attentional capacity and mental workload were directly related at all levels of driver skill, consistent with earlier studies. The results are discussed with reference to applied theories of cognition and the design of automation.

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More information

Published date: 2007
Keywords: Attention, Automaticity, Automation, Driving, Mental workload, Resources

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 73739
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73739
ISSN: 1366-5847
PURE UUID: ab014348-318d-4e57-9125-13691b9bac69
ORCID for M.S. Young: ORCID iD orcid.org/0009-0001-2594-453X
ORCID for N.A. Stanton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-3279

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:27

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Contributors

Author: M.S. Young ORCID iD
Author: N.A. Stanton ORCID iD

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