Texting while driving as impulsive choice: a behavioral economic analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hayashi Y ; Russo CT ; Wirth, Oliver
• Description:
  The goal of the present study was to examine the utility of a behavioral economic analysis to investigate the role of delay discounting in texting while driving. A sample of 147 college students completed a survey to assess how frequently they send and read text messages while driving. Based on this information, students were assigned to one of two groups: 19 students who frequently text while driving and 19 matched-control students who infrequently text while driving but were similar in gender, age, years of education, and years driving. The groups were compared on the extent to which they discounted, or devalued, delayed hypothetical monetary rewards using a delay-discounting task. In this task, students made repeated choices between $1000 available after a delay (ranging from 1 week to 10 years) and an equal or lesser amount of money available immediately. The results show that the students who frequently text while driving discounted delayed rewards at a greater rate than the matched control students. The study supports the conclusions that texting while driving is fundamentally an impulsive choice made by drivers, and that a behavioral economic approach may be a useful research tool for investigating the decision-making processes underlying risky behaviors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Behavior Communications Media Computers Decision Making Education Electrical Equipment And Supplies Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires

  More +
• Keywords:
  Accident-potential Accident-prevention Attitude Author Keywords: Texting While Driving Behavior-patterns Behavioral Economics Choice College Students Communication-systems Computer-equipment Decision-making Decision Making Delay Discounting Drivers Electronic-devices Electronic-equipment Health-surveys Impulsivity Motor-vehicles Safety-practices Safety-research Sociological-factors

  More +
• ISSN:
  0001-4575
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  182-189
• Volume:
  83
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046614
• Citation:
  Accid Anal Prev 2015 Oct; 83:182-189
• Contact Point Address:
  Yusuke Hayashi, Division of Social Sciences and Education, Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton, 76 University Drive, Hazleton, PA 18202, USA
• Email:
  yuh26@psu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Accident Analysis and Prevention
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2f7956e9a2031838e9bd250c9741ee521380d9df18b18969342d3df057c034e6b0b8de2492777c8f54a99ca720538917efcfecbddc31f50fedf24e258cd3e82c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201616/cdc_201616_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 561.50 KB ]