The effect of auditory and visual distracters on the useful field of view: Implications for the driving task

PURPOSE. The driving environment is becoming increasingly complex, including both visual and auditory distractions within the in- vehicle and external driving environments. This study was designed to investigate the effect of visual and auditory distractions on a performance measure that has been shown to be related to driving safety, the useful field of view. METHODS. A laboratory study recorded the useful field of view in 28 young visually normal adults (mean 22.6 +/- 2.2 years). The useful field of view was measured in the presence and absence of visual distracters (of the same angular subtense as the target) and with three levels of auditory distraction (none, listening only, listening and responding). RESULTS. Central errors increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the presence of auditory but not visual distracters, while peripheral errors increased in the presence of both visual and auditory distracters. Peripheral errors increased with eccentricity and were greatest in the inferior region in the presence of distracters. CONCLUSIONS. Visual and auditory distracters reduce the extent of the useful field of view, and these effects are exacerbated in inferior and peripheral locations. This result has significant ramifications for road safety in an increasingly complex in-vehicle and driving environment.

The moderating effects of goal orientations on reactions to goal-performance discrepancies

Due to the growing popularity of goal setting programs within organisations, an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the dynamic regulation of performance is paramount (Williams, Donovan, & Dodge, 2000). Goals serve as standards or referents by which behaviour is directed and evaluated. Whilst their importance is well established in the existing literature (e.g. Locke & Latham, 1990), more recent research has highlighted the potential importance of goal-performance discrepancies. Moreover, the relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and outcomes such as self-efficacy and personal goals appears to vary between people (Schmidt & Chambers, 2002). Of interest in the current study was how these relationships were impacted by goal orientation. Ninety-seven participants completed 30 two-minute trials of an Air Traffic Control task. Task specific goal orientation was measured prior to commencement of the task and measures of self-efficacy and personal task goals were taken at each trial to assess the within-person relationships between goal performance discrepancies and each of these dependant variables, as well as the moderating effects of goal orientations on these relationships. Analysis supported the existence of a positive relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and outcome variables, with performance-approach and –avoidance orientations significantly moderating these associations. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The effects of domain-specific avoid and prove goal orientations on performance: A multilevel analysis

Recently, goal orientation, a mental framework for understanding how individuals approach learning and achievement situadons, has emerged as an important predictor of performance. This study addressed the effects of domain-specific avoid and prove orientations on performance from the betweenand within-person levels of analysis. One hundred and three participants performed thirty trials of an airtraffic control task. Domain-specific avoid and prove orientations were measured before each trial to assess the effects of changes in goal orientadon on changes in performance (i.e. within-person relationships). Average levels of avoid and prove orientations were calculated to assess the effect of goal orientation on overall performance (i.e. between-person relationships). Findings from the between-person level of analysis revealed that high prove-orientated individuals performed better than low proveorientated individuals. Results also revealed that average goal orientation levels moderated the withinperson relationships. The effect of changes in avoid orientation on changes in performance was stronger for low versus high avoid-oriented individuals while the effect of changes in prove orientadon on changes in performances was stronger for low versus highprove oriented individuals. Implications of these findings are considered.