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Distracted Driving. Mark Chan Department of Psychology University of Kansas. “ Wobegon Effect”. “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average..”. Gorilla Video. Inattentional Blindness.
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Distracted Driving Mark Chan Department of Psychology University of Kansas
“Wobegon Effect” “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average..”
InattentionalBlindness • The inability to see things when attention is directed elsewhere • What you see is what you get….. • What you see is NOT what you get…
Change Blindness • The inability to notice changes evenwhen changes are big and obvious…
1 2 Just et al, 2001
“A B C, it’s easy as 1 2 3”.. What’s happening?
Multi-tasking? • Multitasking does not exist. We “task switch”. • Our brains “choose” what information to process, given LIMTED RESOURCES.
Task switching requires resources • Prefrontal cortex (PFC) coordinates selection, execution, and responses. • “Executive Attention” • Last region to reach maturity
Distracted Driving • Driving while talking on the cell phone.. • Slower reaction times • Miss peripheral objects • Poorer vehicle control • Risk of crashing? • 2 to 6 times increase
1 TRILLION TEXT MESSAGES in 2008!! (CITA, 2009) R U there? COD my place! ttyl No OMG!! LOL!!! EZ K WTH?! b4 Hey! : P gtg ?!??!!! L8r! Huh?! K Duh.. : ( sry Cool Dude! OMG!!! Gotta study.. : D Srsly? Where you at? XOXOXO 4got What up?! K Cool! ZzzZzz Whatever… Whoa! I h8 skool.. ROFL!! Wut? Yes! IC, IC Meh ; ) K ……. C U l8r Whre are you?! HALO? Y U NO CALL?! Coffee? : P : ) Where R U?!? Nite! Watchadoin? Game l8r? 17
Distracted Driving • Texting while driving? • Risk of crashing? • 23 times more likely
Earlier Adoption of Cellphones (Geser, 2006)
More texts everywhere.. (Geser, 2006)
Young and dangerous.. (FARS, 2003)
Chapter 8, Article 15, Section 111 Kansas texting law, Senate Bill 300. Effective Jan 01, 2011 TEXT MESSAGING, PROHIBITED
“Don’t tell me what to do” “While these aren’t the craziest fines in the world, the fact that the government is so strictly regulating what we do in our cars frustrates me. I’m not going to pretend like this is the worst thing to happen to me, but I’m bothered that now not only do I need to interrupt my phone call when I see an officer, I also need to make sure it doesn’t look like I’m punching the buttons.” Scott Pearring, January 9, 2009
We have a problem here… What can we do?
Can you wait, or not? • Teens who can’t text • Have reduced self-esteem • Feel excluded • Are we addicted to texting? • Need to reply immediately? (Atchley, & Warden, 2011)
What can (did) we do? • Case Study: Drunk driving • Common (in the past) • Slap on the wrist • Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) • Attitudes and norms changed
What can we do about distracted driving? • We are social creatures • Leverage the social aspect • We care for others, that is the norm • How can we go about changing norms? • Reinforce safe habits • Be willing to talk about the danger • Start young!
A Proverb “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it..”
Questions? Contact info: mchan5@ku.edu