Conference Proceeding

Distraction: Friend or Foe

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Abstract

The classic image in the psychology of driver-car interaction is that of a driver that wants to pay attention to the road: the job of designers is to avoid drawing the driver’s attention away from the road. A number of changes in drivers and cars makes this approach obsolete. Specifically, the following questions are pertinent: • Do drivers want to pay attention to the road? • Can drivers pay attention to the road? • Is attention/distraction the right metric for assessing the effects (positive or negative) of design? • How do new interfaces necessitate a change in our thinking about attention/distraction? • How do fully automated (autonomous) and partially automated vehicles necessitate a change in our thinking about attention/distraction? • How can interface design improve driver attention/performance (as opposed to merely reducing attentional demands)?

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How to Cite: Nass, C. (2013) “Distraction: Friend or Foe”, Driving Assessment Conference. 7(2013). doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1493