Multisensory Cue Congruency In The Lane Change Test

Drivers interact with a number of systems while driving. Taking advantage of multiple modalities can reduce the cognitive effort of information processing and facilitate multitasking. The present study aims to investigate how and when auditory cues improve driver responses to a visual target. We manipulated three dimensions (spatial, semantic, and temporal) of verbal and nonverbal cues to interact with visual spatial instructions. Multimodal displays were compared with unimodal (visual-only) displays to see whether they would facilitate or degrade a vehicle control task. Twenty-six drivers participated in the Auditory-Spatial Stroop experiment using a lane change test (LCT). The preceding auditory cues improved response time over the visual-only condition. When dimensions conflicted, spatial (location) congruency had a stronger impact than semantic (meaning) congruency. The effects on accuracy was minimal, but there was a trend of speed-accuracy trade-offs. Results are discussed along with theoretical issues and future works