Psychological predictors of college students’ cell phone use while driving

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Psychological predictors of college students’ cell phone use while driving

Schlehofer, Michèle M. / Thompson, Suzanne C. / Ting, Sarah / Ostermann, Sharon / Nierman, Angela / Skenderian, Jessica

AbstractDespite the known risk, many people talk on a phone while driving. This study explored psychological predictors of cell phone use while driving. College students (final N=69) completed a survey and predicted their driving performance both with and without a simultaneous phone conversation. Their actual performance on a driving simulator was then assessed. Cell phone use reduced performance on the simulation task. Further, perceiving oneself as good at compensating for driving distractions, overestimating one's performance on the driving simulator, and high illusory control predicted more frequent cell phone use while driving in everyday life. Finally, those who talked more frequently on a phone while driving had poorer real-world driving records. These findings suggest illusory control and positive illusions partly explain driver's decisions of whether to use cell phones while driving.

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Document information

Title :

Psychological predictors of college students’ cell phone use while driving

Contributors:

Schlehofer, Michèle M. (author) / Thompson, Suzanne C. (author) / Ting, Sarah (author) / Ostermann, Sharon (author) / Nierman, Angela (author) / Skenderian, Jessica (author)

Published in:

Accident Analysis and Prevention ; 42 , 4 ; 1107-1112

Publication date :

2009-12-19

Size :

6 pages

ISSN :

0001-4575

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.024

Type of media :

Article (Journal)