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Influence of braking on the state of arousal of young drivers measured through EDA during a driving lesson in a simulator.

Onderdijk, G.H. (2013) Influence of braking on the state of arousal of young drivers measured through EDA during a driving lesson in a simulator.

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Abstract:In this thesis I will do research about the influence of usage of the brake in an automobile. There will be given an answer to the main question: “What is the influence of braking on the state of arousal of young drivers in a driving simulator?” In this research there will be made a difference between three situations: control (no braking and no de- or acceleration), waiting (braking without deceleration) and braking (braking with deceleration). The theoretical framework will state the main factors to answer the main question. One of the important factors of this research is arousal. According to research this can be measured with Electrodermal Activity (EDA), which is the physiological reaction of the body to certain events. In this research there will be made use of the number of Non-Specific Skin Conductance Responses (NS.SCR’s) and the amplitude of these NS.SCR’s. All the participants drove in a driving simulator because this way data about the driving could easily be gathered and it would be safer for the participants. The participants were all young drivers without any driving experience taking their first driving lessons in a simulator. Another important factor is the braking. Research proved that there is a large positive correlation between braking activity and EDA in using the brake to slow down, but not when the vehicle is not moving. All the data is processed with several Matlab (a mathematical computer program for processing information) scripts I wrote so that it could be used effectively in SPSS (a statistical computer program). In SPSS there were done different tests to see whether there is a difference between the three situations mentioned above. The conclusion of the research is that there is a significant influence of using the brake on the state of arousal. This was true for both situations where the brake was used (waiting and braking). This is different than found in the theory about braking and arousal. There was also a significant difference in number of NS.SCR’s and the amplitude of the NS.SCR’s between the participants.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64133
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