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Cell phone-induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving.

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Strayer DL, Drews FA, Johnston WA. · 2003

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Hands-free cell phone conversations impaired drivers' reactions to braking vehicles, and the data suggest this impairment is mediated, at least in part, by reduced attention to visual inputs.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers examined the effects of hands-free cell phone conversations on simulated driving. They found that conversations impaired driver's reactions to vehicles braking in front of them. Cell phone conversations also impaired explicit recognition memory for roadside billboards. Eye-tracking data indicated reduced attention to foveal information. The data suggest that driving impairment is mediated, at least in part, by reduced attention to visual inputs.

Why This Matters

The authors assessed whether the impairment could be attributed to a withdrawal of attention from the visual scene, yielding a form of inattention blindness. Cell phone conversations impaired implicit perceptual memory for items presented at fixation, bolstering this interpretation.

Study Details

This research examined the effects of hands-free cell phone conversations on simulated driving

The authors found that these conversations impaired driver's reactions to vehicles braking in front ...

The data suggest that the impairment of driving performance produced by cell phone conversations is mediated, at least in part, by reduced attention to visual inputs.

Cite This Study
Strayer DL, Drews FA, Johnston WA. (2003). Cell phone-induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving. J Exp Psychol Appl 9(1):23-32, 2003.[case study].
Show BibTeX
@article{dl_2003_cell_phoneinduced_failures_of_2724,
  author = {Strayer DL and Drews FA and Johnston WA.},
  title = {Cell phone-induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving.},
  year = {2003},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12710835/},
}
PubMed: 12710835

Cited By (1,111 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

The study examined the effects of hands-free cell phone conversations on simulated driving.
Conversations impaired drivers' reactions to vehicles braking in front of them.
Cell phone conversations impaired explicit recognition memory for roadside billboards.
Eye-tracking data indicated reduced attention to foveal information.
The data suggest that driving impairment is mediated, at least in part, by reduced attention to visual inputs.