遮挡范式下碰撞时间估计的特性研究

The estimation of Time to Collision (TTC) related to avoiding collisions or making interceptions is an important cognitive ability for individuals. A number of studies have been carried out on this topic and related theories are developed. One of the most famous theories is the τ Theory. Based on the τ Theory, researches have found that visual information and physical information of moving objects would influent the TTC estimation. Are there any other factors that can affect people’s TTC estimation? A mixed design was used to examine the TTC estimation by different types of participants (professional drivers / people can not drive), with different moving objects (car/tricycle), under different speed (slow/fast) and direction (left to right / right to left) in Occlusion Paradigm. There were 21 professional drivers and 20 individuals who cannot drive participated in the experiment which was displayed on a computer. Participants were asked to click the button when he/she believed that the moving object had just contacted the red line. E-prime was used to establish the whole experimental environment and the RT was recorded at the same time. The results revealed that: (1) there is significant different TTC estimation between car and tricycle; (2) the professional drivers have more accurate TTC estimation than people do not drive. We can come to conclusion that conceptual information and driving skill could affect TTC estimation.

对运动物体碰撞时间的估计（TTC估计）是个体重要的认知能力，与避免碰撞和进行拦截等行为有关。目前关于TTC估计的研究有很多，也产生了一些具有影响力的理论，其中最具代表型的当属τ理论。在τ理论的基础上，相关研究发现视觉信息和物理信息是影响TTC估计的重要信息源。除此以外，是否还存在其他影响因素呢？本研究运用遮挡范式，采用混合设计，考察了不同类型被试（驾驶员和非驾驶员）、运动物体（小车和三轮车）、运动速度（慢速和快速）和运动方向（从左到右和从右到左）对TTC估计的影响。实验在电脑上完成，21名专职驾驶员和20名非驾驶员参加实验。被试的任务是，当其认为物体刚好撞上红色目标线条时按键确认。实验采用E-prime程序编写并记录反应时间。结果表明：（1）对小车的TTC估计与对三轮车的TTC估计有显著差异；（2）驾驶员TTC估计明显好于非驾驶员。由此可见，运动物体的概念信息和驾驶技能及经验也是影响TTC估计的信息源。