Psychology Commons^™

Impulsivity Like Traits And Risky Driving Behaviors Among College Students, Matthew R. Pearson, Elaine M. Murphy, Ashley N. Doane

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined the predictive effects of five impulsivity-like traits (Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, Negative Urgency, and Positive Urgency) on driving outcomes (driving errors, driving lapses, driving violations, cell phone driving, traffic citations, and traffic collisions). With a convenience sample of 266 college student drivers, we found that each of the impulsivity-like traits was related to multiple risky driving outcomes. Positive Urgency (tendency to act impulsively when experiencing negative affect) was the most robust predictor of risky driving outcomes. Positive Urgency is a relatively newly conceptualized impulsivity-like trait that was not examined in the driving literature previously, suggesting a …

Effects Of Signal Ambiguity And Signal Location On Target Detection Under Varying Degrees Of Time Constraint, Kimberly E. Culley

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of decision-making strategies and tendencies, time constraint, and signal characteristics on decision-making performance utilizing the fuzzy signal detection theory framework. Participants were tasked with deciding whether x-ray images of passenger luggage contained hazardous objects.

The first objective of the study was to develop a methodology for quantifying optimizing versus satisficing tendencies in decision making through direct measurement and observation.

The second objective of the study was to examine how time constraint and specific signal characteristics contribute to decision making. Interestingly, despite having more time available to conduct a comprehensive …

The Effects Of External Motivation And Real-Time Automated Feedback On Speeding Behavior In A Naturalistic Setting, Ian J. Reagan, James P. Bliss, Ron Van Houten, Bryan W. Hilton

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: In this field experiment, the authors tested an alerting system and a monetary incentive system with the objective of reducing speeding more than 5 mph faster than the posted speed limit.

Background: Speeding is a factor in a significant number of traffic fatalities. The systems tested in this project have been evaluated outside but not within the United States. These studies indicated that similar systems led to reductions in speeding.

Method: For this study, eight vehicles were instrumented such that vehicle speed and speed limits were linked in real time. A total of 50 participants drove assigned vehicles for …