Effects of Language on Angry drivers' Situation Awareness, Driving Performance, and Subjective Perception in Level 3 Automated Vehicles

Research shows that anger has a negative impact on cognition due to the rumination effect and in the context of driving, anger negatively impacts situation awareness, driving performance, and road safety. In-vehicle agents are capable of mitigating the effects of anger and subsequent effects on driving behavior. Language is another important aspect that influences information processing and human behavior during social interactions. This study aimed to explore the effects of the language of in-vehicle agents on angry drivers’ situation awareness, driving performance, and subjective perception by conducting a within-subject driving simulator study. Twenty four young drivers drove three different laps in a level 3 automated vehicle with a native-language speaking agent (Hindi or Chinese), second-language speaking agent (English) and no agent. The results of this study are indicative of the importance of native language processing in the context of driving. The use of the participants’ native language resulted in improved driving performance and heightened situation awareness. The participants preferred the native language agent over the other conditions and also expressed the need to control the state of the in-vehicle agent. The study results and discussions have theoretical and practical design implications and are expected to help foster future work in this domain.