Pupil dilation as indicative of cognitive workload while driving a car: effects of cell phone use and driver experience in young adults

Bethânya G. Carizio; Gustavo A. Silva; Gabriel P. Paschoalino; Juliana C. de Angelo; Gisele C. Gotardi; Paula F. Polastri; Sérgio T. Rodrigues

doi:10.20338/bjmb.v15i5.269

Pupil dilation as indicative of cognitive workload while driving a car: effects of cell phone use and driver experience in young adults

Authors

Bethânya G. Carizio LIVIA- Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil
Gustavo A. Silva LIVIA- Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil
Gabriel P. Paschoalino LIVIA- Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil
Juliana C. de Angelo LAPE- Exercise Prescription and Assessment Laboratory. Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil
Gisele C. Gotardi LIVIA- Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil
Paula F. Polastri Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil.
Sérgio T. Rodrigues LIVIA- Laboratory of Information, Vision and Action, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, São Paulo State University, Bauru, SP, Brazil - sergio.tosi@unesp.br

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v15i5.269

Keywords:

Cognitive workload, Driving simulator, Pupillometry, Dual task, Cell phone

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cognitive workload resulting from drivers’ engagement in concomitant tasks while driving, such as talking on a cell phone, affects the availability of attentional resources for the various stages of information processing, which can interfere with the selection of relevant traffic information, leading to poor performance and higher risk of accidents.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to test the adaptation and application of the method of fixation-aligned pupillary response averaging to the car driving context, and, if successful, to determine effects of talking on a cell phone while driving, in both handheld and hands-free situations, and effects of driving experience on pupillary responses of young adult drivers, as indicative of cognitive workload.

METHOD: Ten novice and ten experienced drivers had pupil diameter measured while driving in a car simulator under velocity of 80-120 km/h, daylight, linear trajectory and low traffic level. Data analysis was based on the method of fixation-aligned pupillary response averaging.

RESULTS: Noise curves were around baseline (zero) values while pupil dilation curves clearly stood out from noise magnitude, in all conditions for both groups. Greater pupil dilation peak during talking on the cell phone (handheld and hands-free conditions) while driving occurred only for the novice group.

CONCLUSION: Adaptation and application of the method of fixation-aligned pupillary response averaging to the car driving context succeed. Cognitive workload imposed by the dual task of talking on a cell phone increased pupil dilation for novice drivers, which may alter acquisition of visual information and impair driving behavior.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

PDF
HTML

Published

2021-12-01

How to Cite

Carizio, B. G., Silva, G. A., Paschoalino, G. P., de Angelo, J. C., Gotardi, G. C., Polastri, P. F., & Rodrigues, S. T. (2021). Pupil dilation as indicative of cognitive workload while driving a car: effects of cell phone use and driver experience in young adults. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 15(5), 391–402. https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v15i5.269

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 5 (2021)

Section

Special issue: 15 years of Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors must declare that the work submitted is their own and that copyright has not been breached in seeking its publication. If the manuscript includes work previously published elsewhere, it is the author(s) responsibility to obtain permission to use it and to indicate that such permission has been granted.

Authors retain the copyright of their paper and grant the Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior (BJMB) the right to first publish the work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license (CC BY-NC-ND). This license allows users to share the paper given the appropriate credit to the author and source and does not allow commercial uses and derivative materials to be produced.