Sensation Seeking, Non-contextual Decision Making, and Driving Abilities As Measured through a Moped Simulator

Abstract

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.

The Relationship between Sensation Seeking and Speed Choice in Road Environments with Different Levels of Risk

“…Jonah (1997) suggests this may be because younger drivers are either more likely to accept risks while driving, to experience the thrill, or they may be misperceiving the risk because of their inexperience. For older drivers, on the other hand, experience and non-contextual decision-making skills (Gianfranchi et al, 2017) may suppress the tendency to act on sensation seeking in the interests of safety. In terms of gender, while males had higher SS scores (M=26.2 vs M=24.8 for females), there was no difference in the relationship between SS and speed choice, with both males and females showing significant positive correlations (r = .69, p < .005, and r = .62, p < .01), respectively.…”

“…One trait which is shown to be well-correlated with risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, and risk of collisions (see Jonah, 1997, for a review), is sensation-seeking (SS, see Arnett, 1994), For example, in a simulator study examining behavioral adaptation to adaptive cruise control (ACC), drivers with high SS scores were more likely to engage in a demanding secondary task when their vehicle speed and headway was controlled by ACC (Rudin-Brown and Parker, 2004). Gianfranchi et al (2017) showed that both high SS, and bad decision-making (as measured by performance on the Iowa Gambling Task), contributed to poor or risky driving performance. However, most studies in this context have relied on self-reported questionnaires for recording violations in driving.…”

Personality Traits and Beliefs About Peers’ On-Road Behaviors as Predictors of Adolescents’ Moped-Riding Profiles

“…Driving simulators have been used to provide a behavioral correlate for the identification of driving profiles (Deery and Fildes, 1999; Marengo et al, 2012). An innovative approach was recently proposed by Gianfranchi et al (2017a,b), aimed at identifying riding profiles on the basis of participants’ behavior on a moped-riding simulator. Reversing the approach of previous works, Gianfranchi et al (2017a,b) monitored the performance of two samples of young drivers on five courses on the HRT simulator, measuring a wide number of variables ( e.g ., mean speed, mean pressure on the brakes, number of crashes and the overall performance evaluation) used to identify specific profiles.…”

“…An innovative approach was recently proposed by Gianfranchi et al (2017a,b), aimed at identifying riding profiles on the basis of participants’ behavior on a moped-riding simulator. Reversing the approach of previous works, Gianfranchi et al (2017a,b) monitored the performance of two samples of young drivers on five courses on the HRT simulator, measuring a wide number of variables ( e.g ., mean speed, mean pressure on the brakes, number of crashes and the overall performance evaluation) used to identify specific profiles. In the first study (Gianfranchi et al, 2017a), two clusters were identified (Imprudent and Prudent riders), with an opposite riding profile.…”

“…For instance, Imprudent riders who answered the questionnaires after using the simulator ( i.e ., after having the chance to prove themselves in a series of potentially risky scenarios) reported lower rates of on-road errors and lapses, but they also reported a higher rate of on-road risky behaviors. In the second study (Gianfranchi et al, 2017b), a wider sample of young drivers was assessed by applying the same clustering procedure and measuring participants’ SS and non-contextual decision making through the Sensation Seeking Scale V (Zuckerman, 1994) and the Iowa Gambling Task (Bechara et al, 1994), respectively. Three clusters emerged: two of them resembled those already identified in the previous study, whereas the third showed mixed characteristics and was labeled “Insecure.” The results showed that the worst performance in terms of number of crashes and of overall performance evaluations was reached by participants with high levels of TS and poor decision-making ability.…”