From road distraction to safe driving: Evaluating the effects of boredom and gamification on driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience. Steinberger, F., Schroeter, R., & Watling, C. N. Computers in Human Behavior, 75:714–726, October, 2017. M
From road distraction to safe driving: Evaluating the effects of boredom and gamification on driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Boredom and low levels of task engagement while driving can pose road safety risks, e.g., inattention during low traffic, routine trips, or semi-automated driving. Digital technology interventions that increase task engagement, e.g., through performance feedback, increased challenge, and incentives (often referred to as ‘gamification’), could therefore offer safety benefits. To explore the impact of such interventions, we conducted experiments in a high-fidelity driving simulator with thirty-two participants. In two counterbalanced conditions (control and intervention), we compared driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience. Results indicate that the gamified boredom intervention reduced unsafe coping mechanisms such as speeding while promoting anticipatory driving. We can further infer that the intervention not only increased one's attention and arousal during the intermittent gamification challenges, but that these intermittent stimuli may also help sustain one's attention and arousal in between challenges and throughout a drive. At the same time, the gamified condition led to slower hazard reactions and short off-road glances. Our contributions deepen our understanding of driver boredom and pave the way for engaging interventions for safety critical tasks.
@article{steinberger_road_2017,
	title = {From road distraction to safe driving: {Evaluating} the effects of boredom and gamification on driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience},
	volume = {75},
	issn = {07475632},
	shorttitle = {From road distraction to safe driving},
	url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0747563217303904},
	doi = {10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.019},
	abstract = {Boredom and low levels of task engagement while driving can pose road safety risks, e.g., inattention during low traffic, routine trips, or semi-automated driving. Digital technology interventions that increase task engagement, e.g., through performance feedback, increased challenge, and incentives (often referred to as ‘gamification’), could therefore offer safety benefits. To explore the impact of such interventions, we conducted experiments in a high-fidelity driving simulator with thirty-two participants. In two counterbalanced conditions (control and intervention), we compared driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience. Results indicate that the gamified boredom intervention reduced unsafe coping mechanisms such as speeding while promoting anticipatory driving. We can further infer that the intervention not only increased one's attention and arousal during the intermittent gamification challenges, but that these intermittent stimuli may also help sustain one's attention and arousal in between challenges and throughout a drive. At the same time, the gamified condition led to slower hazard reactions and short off-road glances. Our contributions deepen our understanding of driver boredom and pave the way for engaging interventions for safety critical tasks.},
	language = {en},
	urldate = {2018-07-11},
	journal = {Computers in Human Behavior},
	author = {Steinberger, Fabius and Schroeter, Ronald and Watling, Christopher N.},
	month = oct,
	year = {2017},
	note = {M},
	pages = {714--726},
}

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