Citation

McPhee LC, Scialfa CT, Dennis WM, Ho G, Caird JK. Hum. Factors 2004; 46(4): 674-685.

Affiliation

University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15709329

Abstract

The effects of divided attention were examined in younger adults (M = 23 years) and older adults (M = 64 years) who searched for traffic signs in digitized images of traffic scenes. Sign search was executed under single-task and dual-task conditions in scenes containing either small or large amounts of visual clutter. For both age groups, clutter and the secondary task had additive effects on search accuracy, speed, and oculomotor involvement. Compared with the younger adults, older adults were less accurate, especially with high-clutter scenes, were slower to decide that a target sign was not present, and exhibited a marginally greater divided-attention effect on reaction times. They exhibited longer fixations in the divided-attention condition, in which they also showed a disproportionate reduction in recognition memory for the content of the secondary task. Actual or potential applications of this research include methods for evaluating the distraction of conversations and safety implications of conversation on visual search behavior.


Keywords: Driver distraction