Personality traits and beliefs about peers\u2019 on-road behaviors as predictors of adolescents\u2019 moped-riding profiles.

Several efforts aimed at discriminating between different degrees of on-road risky attitudes have been devoted to the identification of personality profiles among young drivers. However, the results are often inconsistent because of the limits of selfreport measures. To overcome these limits, we tried to identify different profiles based on our study participants\u2019 driving performances in a virtual environment and to look for psychological predictors of inclusion in one of three profiles. One-hundred and fourteen inexperienced adolescents were involved in this study, which included two experimental sessions. During the first, before riding along five virtual courses on a moped simulator, participants\u2019 sensation seeking, locus of control, aggressiveness and beliefs about their peers\u2019 on-road behaviors were measured by means of self-report tools. During the second session, the participants drove the simulator along six courses that were different from those faced in the first session. A cluster analysis was run on a wide number of indexes extracted from the participants\u2019 performances to detect different riding profiles. Three profiles emerged (Imprudent, Prudent and Insecure), with specific riding patterns. The profiles also differed in terms of riding safety, assessed by means of the scores automatically given by the simulator to the participants\u2019 performances. Reporting an external locus of control, underestimating peers\u2019 on-road risky behaviors and showing less concern for fate among the possible causes of crashes are predictors that increase the risk of being included in the Imprudent profile. Low levels of dangerous thrill seeking predict inclusion in the Prudent profile, whereas high rates of self-reported anger play a role in discriminating the Insecure riders from the other profiles. The study indicates that it is possible to identify riding profiles with different degrees of on-road safety among inexperienced adolescents by means of simulated road environments. Moreover, inclusion in these profiles is predicted by different patterns of personality variables and beliefs. Further research is needed to verify the validity of these conclusions in real road conditions

A First Step toward the Understanding of Implicit Learning of Hazard Anticipation in Inexperienced Road Users Through a Moped-Riding Simulator

Hazard perception is considered one of the most important abilities in road safety. Several efforts have been devoted to investigating how it improves with experience and can be trained. Recently, research has focused on the implicit aspects of hazard detection, reaction, and anticipation. In the present study, we attempted to understand how the ability to anticipate hazards develops during training with a moped-riding simulator: the Honda Riding Trainer (HRT). Several studies have already validated the HRT as a tool to enhance adolescents\u2019 hazard perception and riding abilities. In the present study, as an index of hazard anticipation, we used skin conductance response (SCR), which has been demonstrated to be linked to affective/implicit appraisal of risk. We administered to a group of inexperienced road users five road courses two times a week apart. In each course, participants had to deal with eight hazard scenes (except one course that included only seven hazard scenes). Participants had to ride along the HRT courses, facing the potentially hazardous situations, following traffic rules, and trying to avoid accidents. During the task, we measured SCR and monitored driving performance. The main results show that learning to ride the simulator leads to both a reduction in the number of accidents and anticipation of the somatic response related to hazard detection, as proven by the reduction of SCR onset recorded in the second session. The finding that the SCR signaling the impending hazard appears earlier when the already encountered hazard situations are faced anew suggests that training with the simulator acts on the somatic activation associated with the experience of risky situations, improving its effectiveness in detecting hazards in advance so as to avoid accidents. This represents the starting point for future investigations into the process of generalization of learning acquired in new virtual situations and in real-road situations

Sensation seeking, non-contextual decision making, and driving abilities as measured through a moped simulator.

The general aim of the present study was to explore the relations between driving style (assessed through a moped riding simulator) and psychological variables such as sensation seeking and decision making. Because the influences of sensation seeking and decision making on driving styles have been studied separately in the literature, we have tried to investigate their mutual relations so as to include them in a more integrated framework. Participants rode the Honda Riding Trainer (HRT) simulator, filled in the Sensation Seeking Scale V (SSS V), and performed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). A cluster analysis of the HRT riding indexes identified three groups: Prudent, Imprudent, and Insecure riders. First, the results showed that Insecure males seek thrills and adventure less than both Prudent males and Insecure females, whereas Prudent females are less disinhibited than both Prudent males and Insecure females. Moreover, concerning the relations among SSS, decision making as measured by the IGT, and riding performance, high thrill and adventure seekers performed worse in the simulator only if they were also bad decision makers, indicating that these two traits jointly contribute to the quality of riding performance. From an applied perspective, these results also provide useful information for the development of protocols for assessing driving abilities among novice road users. Indeed, the relation between risk proneness and riding style may allow for the identification of road-user populations who require specific training

How can on-road hazard perception and anticipation be improved? Evidence from the body

The present research is aimed at investigating processes associated with learning how to drive safely. We were particularly interested in implicit mechanisms related to the automatic processing system involved in decision making in risky situations (Slovic et al., 2007). The operation of this system is directly linked to experiential and emotional reactions and can be monitored by measuring psychophysiological variables, such as skin conductance responses (SCRs). We focused specifically on the generalization of previously acquired skills to new and never before encountered road scenarios. To that end, we compared the SCRs of two groups of participants engaged, respectively, in two distinctive modes of moped-riding training. The active group proceeded actively, via moped, through several simulated courses, whereas the passive group watched video of the courses performed by the former group and identified hazards. Results indicate that the active group not only demonstrated improved performance in the second session, which involved the same simulated courses, but also showed generalization to new scenes in the third session. Moreover, SCRs to risky scenes, although present in both groups, were detectable in a higher proportion in the active group, paralleling the degree of risk confronted as the training progressed. Finally, the anticipatory ability demonstrated previously (and replicated in the present study), which was evident in the repeated performance of a given scenario, did not seem to generalize to the new scenarios confronted in the last session

The influence of unpleasant emotional arousal on military performance: An experimental study using auditory stimuli during a shooting task

Due to the intrinsic difficulties associated with simulating extreme events, it remains unclear how unpleasant emotional arousal might affect shooting performance among well-trained high-risk operators. To address this issue, an infantry rifle squad performed two simulated shooting exercises of different complexity (low vs. high) while exposed to unpleasant emotionally charged sound clips. A control group underwent the same experimental procedure without the presence of any sound clips. To externally validate our method of emotional arousal inoculation, we collected infantrymen’s salivary cortisol and perceived arousal and valence levels over the experimental phases (i.e., baseline, shooting, and recovery). The dependent variables were their shooting performance (shot-to-hit ratio and instructor’s evaluation) and the perceived degree of task complexity. Furthermore, we explored the variations of participants’ nasal skin temperature during the shooting exercises. Salivary cortisol concentrations varied over time only for the squad exposed to emotionally charged stimuli. While emotional arousal had an effect on overall infantrymen performance (e.g., precision of movements while shooting), shooting accuracy was not affected. Emotional arousal did not influence nasal skin temperature. Overall, our results suggest that arousal inoculation based on emotionally charged sound clips could serve as a complementary (reliable and ethically appropriate) method to train high-risk operators to deal with emotional arousal. These findings may also contribute to a better understanding of the role of emotional arousal in operational effectiveness.Santander Bank - CEMIX UGR-MADOC grant PINS 2018-15 PIN 5/2/20 F2FGerman Research Foundation (DFG) RYC-2015-1748

Electrophysiological correlates of the reverse Stroop effect: Results from a simulated handgun task

This work was supported by the Ramon y Cajal fellowship program from the Spanish State Research Agency (RYC-2015-17483) awarded to LLDS. Additional support was obtained from the Unit of Excellence on Brain, Behavior, and Health (SC2) , funded by the Excellence actions program of the University of Granada. Work by CDP & LLDS is supported by Santander Bank- Joint Center University of Granada-Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command (grant numbers PINs 2018-15 and 5/2/20 F2F) . The funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Greg Wood (Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK) for sharing the original set of stimuli used in his reverse Stroop handgun task. We thank Dr. Marcelo Augusto Costa Fernandes (Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada) for his help in data processing and analysis. We thank Dr. Michelangelo Cao (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford) for his comments and suggestions on the manu-script. We also want to thank Dr. J. M. Morales, Ms. P. Gonzalez, and Mr. D. Catalan for their help during data collection and pre-processing.The color-word reverse Stroop (RS) effect still represents an interesting puzzle for cognitive researchers as an interference between incongruent ink colors and the meaning of the words is not always found. Here, we examined whether an unfamiliar and complex visuomotor task would produce a RS effect. Forty inexperienced shooters carried out a simulated shooting task. To test if the RS effect is related to the stimuli processing or to a late processing of the color (early and late time-windows), electroencephalographic global field power (GFP) variations were recorded with a high-impedance system (32 channels configuration in a standard monopolar montage, referenced to FCz and grounded to FPz). The color-word RS effect was reflected in the performance of 32 participants, suggesting that the strength of the association between the target and the specific response requested might be central to the RS interference. This behavioral result was paralleled by GFP modulations in 20 participants. A significant increase of the GFP for the congruent trials (e.g., the word “red” written in red ink) was recorded after stimulus presentation (conflict detection), followed by an increase for the incongruent trials (e.g., the word “red” written in green ink) just before the shooting (conflict resolution). Despite the limitations of the study, such as the inclusion of a low number of channels in the GFP analyses, the results suggest that the RS interference is easily elicited in tasks requiring an unfamiliar response, which supports the strength of association hypothesis. Moreover, as implied by the GFP modulations, the interference might occur early in time, but also in a later stage, closer to the response.Ramon y Cajal fellowship program from the Spanish State Research Agency RYC-2015-17483Unit of Excellence on Brain, Behavior, and Health (SC2) - Excellence actions program of the University of Granada CDPSantander Bank- Joint Center University of Granada-Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command PINs 2018-15 5/2/20 F2

A tool for training hazard perception and for assessing driving behaviors in adolescents and inexperienced drivers: A simulation study

All over the world, young and inexperienced road users are overrepresented among the victims of crashes. They are reported to have a worse hazard perception, being at the same time more prone to risk-taking behaviors. Moreover, various patterns of personality traits seem to affect their on-road behaviors. During the years, lots of efforts have been devoted to the identification of strategies to cope with such a phenomenon, usually employing psychosocial interventions and frontal lessons. Meanwhile, the progress in technology led to the development of driving simulators, allowing to test driving behaviors in a safe environment. However, to date no specific training or assessment driving simulator protocols have yet been developed. The present Ph.D. project aimed at developing and testing a hazard perception training and a driving profile assessment protocol for inexperienced (young and adolescents) road users by mean of a specific driving simulator, psychophysiological indices, and psychological measures. The development of the training and of the assessment protocol followed several steps, sometimes running parallel to each other. The features and issues of the inexperienced road users are discussed in Chapter 1, where a distinction between experience and exposure is made and their links with onroad behaviors are explored. In the second part of Chapter 1, the pros and cons of driving simulators are described; Moreover, it is introduced the Honda Riding Trainer - HRT simulator (employed in this Ph.D. project), followed by an overview of the previous studies that have previously used this simulator. In Chapter 2 the most important factors influencing inexperienced road users’ behaviors (hazard perception, attention, and personality traits) are introduced and discussed. The research work can be divided into two main branches: The first (Chapter 3) includes three studies. Specifically, the first two constituted the two parts of a single research project aimed at assessing changes in the skin conductance (SC) considered as a somatic marker of hazard perception in novice drivers during a two and a three-session training on the HRT, respectively. In the case of a two-session training, the main results show that the reduction of the crashes while driving the simulator (when participants faced again the same courses during the second session) is paralleled by a significant anticipation in the onset of skin conductance responses (SCRs) in the hazardous scenes included in the courses, testifying that participants learned to anticipate the hazards that they had already experienced. In the subsequent study, three sessions were employed (the first two with the same courses and the last with different ones) and two groups compared: The training group drove the simulator whereas the control group just had to watch the video-clips of the same courses and detect hazards. Here, the reduction in risky driving behaviors and the increase in the safe ones in the training group were paralleled by significant changes in the SC in terms of percentages of SCRs, but no anticipation of the SCR onset was present in the third session. The last study included in Chapter 3 aimed at assessing the event-related potentials (ERPs) of attentional monitoring and shifting in a one-session training on the HRT, during which participants were administered with a multi-feature oddball paradigm. The deviant stimuli in the oddball were divided into three categories: Deviant pure tones, human sounds and traffic-related sounds. The main results showed that, at the end of the training, the participants avoided a higher percentage of accidents and had enough cognitive resources available to monitor the environment and to shift attention toward salient stimuli (traffic-related sounds), as attested by the increase in the amplitude of the P3a. The second branch of the research work (Chapters 4 and 5) includes four studies: In the first two (Chapter 4) an assessment method to identify driving profiles by means of 18 driving indices extracted from the HRT is proposed. In the first study reported in Chapter 4, two profiles emerged and were compared in terms of self-reported aberrant driving behaviors, whereas, in the second study, three profiles were identified and compared in terms of sensation seeking and decision making ability. In the last two studies (Chapter 5), the method previously proposed was employed to identify three “embryonic” driving profiles among adolescents without any license, also finding personality patterns that can predict the inclusion in the driving profiles; Overall, the results of this second branch indicated that the HRT can be employed as a tool to assess different driving profiles among low-experienced and totally inexperienced drivers and that these profiles show consistent links with the personality traits that are usually reported as predictors of risky driving behaviors. Finally, a first evaluation of the effectiveness of the training on the simulator in terms of on-road accidents and near misses (follow up) is reported, by means of an exploratory comparison of the self-reported real road performance of a trained and an untrained group of adolescents. The follow up study showed that, in a 12-months post-training period, participants reported less frequent bike crashes independently of the driving profile in which they were included. Moreover, an exploratory analysis showed that a subgroup of the trained participants, compared to an untrained control group, matched for age, gender and on-road exposure, reported less frequent bike crashes. Overall, the results of the present Ph.D. project suggest that: (1) a training of at least two sessions on the HRT simulator leads to a reduction in the risky and to an increase in the safe driving behaviors, in novice and inexperienced road users; (2) these changes are supposed to be due to an improvement in participants’ hazard perception, as attested by the psychophysiological changes in the participants who drove the simulator; (3) a one-session training on the HRT allows to have enough available resources to monitor the environment and to shift attention toward salient stimuli; (4) the behavioral improvements in the simulator seem to generalize to some degree to the real world, as attested by the reduction in the bike crashes for the trained participants and by the comparison of their crash rate with that of a matched control group; (5) the HRT can be employed as a tool to identify different driving profiles in people with different degrees of road exposure. The training and the assessment protocol presented in this research work can be considered useful tools to cope with the inexperienced road users crash rate issue, from a preventive perspective. The possibility, provided by the simulator, to test and train drivers in a safe and simulated environment, may lead to the development of ad hoc protocols, even customized on the basis of the participant’s driving profile and personality traits. As a result, this opportunity may provide a crucial contribution in preventing road crashes

Risk profiles in novice road users: Relation between moped riding simulator performance, on-road aberrant behaviors and dangerous driving

The aim of this study was to compare the scores obtained by an Italian sample of novice drivers/riders on an adapted version of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI) with their performance in a moped-riding simulator. Cluster analysis on the indexes extracted by the simulator were used to identify two groups with opposite riding styles: Prudent riders and Imprudent riders. Using the DBQ, our data not only confirmed data in the literature indicating that females reported more driving Errors than males, and that males reported higher Intended Violation scores than females, but also showed that gender effects are modulated by riding style (as measured by the simulator) and driving exposure. Differences between males\u2019 and females\u2019 DBQ scores were only apparent for Imprudent riders, while the reported Errors, Slips and Lapses, and Violations were lower the higher the driving exposure. As for the DDDI, males scored higher than females for Risky Driving, and the Aggressive Driving scores were higher the greater the driving exposure, but only for Imprudent riders. These results provide crucial information for the use of DBQ and DDDI questionnaires in the Italian population. They also confirm that a multidimensional approach, supported by the use of driving simulators, may facilitate a more detailed assessment of riding abilities