The Effect of an Emotionalizing Sound Design on the Driver’s Choice of Headway in a Driving Simulator

This study investigates the impact of emotionalizing sound design on driving behaviour, focusing on the effect of an acoustic stimulus that varies from positive to negative/threatening based on the vehicle’s time headway (THW). Our primary goal was to explore how this sound influences driving durati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAcoustics (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 541 - 567
Main Authors Petersen, Manuel, Deml, Barbara, Albers, Albert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024
Subjects
Acoustics
active sound design
Behavior
Braking systems
Driver behavior
electric vehicle
emotional stimulus
Emotions
Fatalities
Headways
Hypotheses
Music
Physiology
psychoacoustics
Sound design
Statistical analysis
Tonality
Traffic accidents & safety
traffic safety
vehicle interior noise
Vehicles
Germany
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Summary:This study investigates the impact of emotionalizing sound design on driving behaviour, focusing on the effect of an acoustic stimulus that varies from positive to negative/threatening based on the vehicle’s time headway (THW). Our primary goal was to explore how this sound influences driving durations within specific THW ranges and the mean THW itself. The experiment utilized a control group and a within-participant setting across simulated driving scenarios. The statistical analysis showed mixed results. While participants in the control group setup did not demonstrate significant reductions in the durations of driving in lower THW ranges, a modest but significant increase in mean THW was observed when the emotionalizing sound was active. However, within-participant comparisons showed both a significant decrease in the duration of driving at lower THWs and an increase in mean THW when the negative stimulus was active, suggesting the stimulus’ effectiveness in promoting safer driving habits. These findings highlight the potential of emotionalizing sound design to influence driver behaviour towards maintaining safer distances, although the impact appears to diminish at higher THW ranges. Future research should further investigate the characteristics of sounds that effectively modify driving behaviour, aiming for broader applications in traffic safety.
ISSN:2624-599X
DOI:10.3390/acoustics6020029