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Impact of mind‐wandering on visual information processing while driving: An electrophysiological study
Author(s) -
Pepin Guillaume,
Fort Alexandra,
Jallais Christophe,
Moreau Fabien,
Ndiaye Daniel,
Navarro Jordan,
Gabaude Catherine
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.3773
Subject(s) - psychology , mind wandering , cognition , perception , information processing , visual perception , visual attention , cognitive psychology , decoupling (probability) , event related potential , task (project management) , electrophysiology , visual search , neuroscience , control engineering , engineering , management , economics
Summary Mind‐wandering (MW) has a negative impact on tasks requiring sustained and divided attention like driving. During MW, drivers experience perceptual decoupling. As driving is mainly a visual activity, it would seem to be appropriate to evaluate stages of visual information processing impaired during MW, using event‐related potential techniques. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the level of attention devoted to driving impacted visual information processing and reaction time. The findings showed reductions in visual N1 and P3 amplitudes while driving and longer reaction times during periods of self‐reported MW. This suggests that drivers can become detached from their environment by redirecting their attention to their personal thoughts and some of their cognitive resources may be consumed to feed internal trains of thought. In the future, investigating off‐task characteristics might be useful in better understanding the impact of MW in car crashes.