Harry Potter香蕉视频直播檚 power appears to extend beyond the page, as recent Canadian research suggests listening to an audiobook from the popular fiction series can improve focus on long and boring drives.
Lana Trick, a psychology professor at the University of Guelph, wanted to look into areas that could help improve driving performance, given that 40 per cent of collisions can be attributed to in-car distraction, she said.
While much of scientific research has focused on the deleterious effects of distracted driving, she sought to look into 香蕉视频直播済ood distractions.香蕉视频直播�
READ MORE:
The problem with driving, she explained, is the load the brain carries. Too little stimulation 香蕉视频直播� dubbed mental underload 香蕉视频直播� can be just as bad as the opposite, or mental overload.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 like nature abhors a vacuum,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚f you have an empty brain, you can doze off or your mind wanders or you find another way to distract yourself, like grabbing your cell phone.香蕉视频直播�
The key, she said, is to find the sweet spot between the two for the brain 香蕉视频直播� that香蕉视频直播檚 where audiobooks come in.
香蕉视频直播淎udiobooks can be cases where a little bit of distraction can be useful,香蕉视频直播� she said.
For the project, Trick香蕉视频直播檚 team wanted an audiobook that featured an interesting, relatively popular story, and the novel featuring the boy wizard and his friends fit the bill.
香蕉视频直播淗arry Potter is engaging and exciting,香蕉视频直播� Trick said, 香蕉视频直播渂ut also something you can have in the background and not too complex.香蕉视频直播�
Her research, recently published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, showed drivers who participated in her study had better 香蕉视频直播渉azardous response times香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� braking faster in response to hazards 香蕉视频直播� while listening to 香蕉视频直播淗arry Potter and the Deathly Hallows香蕉视频直播� compared to those who drove in silence.
Trick recruited undergraduate students at the University of Guelph as test subjects who used a driving simulator at a specialized laboratory. The DRiVE Lab 香蕉视频直播� named for Driving Research in Virtual Environments 香蕉视频直播� is a state-of-the-art facility where researchers can test various scenarios without the risks of driving on a road, Trick said.
The lab has a car 香蕉视频直播� a convertible Pontiac 香蕉视频直播� that is surrounded by screens. Sounds of driving and 香蕉视频直播渇orce feedback香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� such as the vibrations of a moving car 香蕉视频直播� add to the feel of driving, Trick said. For her study, participants drove both complex and simple routes while listening to parts of the Harry Potter audiobook or driving in silence.
The researchers first scored students on their working memory. Those who had strong working memories, as in those who could hold a number of ideas at once, saw a particularly strong benefit to listening to an audiobook while driving long and boring routes, Trick said.
香蕉视频直播淭hose drivers that have the highest memory load are the most challenged by dull, simple drives and an audiobook seemed to help them,香蕉视频直播� she said.
The audiobook did, however, have a slightly negative effect on drivers with poor working memory on particularly complex drives. The research shows the audiobook had no effect on drivers香蕉视频直播� speeds.
香蕉视频直播淲hat this means is that it could help when you香蕉视频直播檙e driving along the boring 401 with no change of scenery for miles and miles and miles,香蕉视频直播� she said.
One other notable finding, Trick said, came with what香蕉视频直播檚 known as 香蕉视频直播渟tandard deviation of lateral position,香蕉视频直播� which means how much a car moves from side to side in a lane. At times, those who listened to the audiobook showed more variance in their lanes, she said.
香蕉视频直播淲hen people are excited they tend to shift around a little bit more,香蕉视频直播� Trick said. 香蕉视频直播淲e were going through an especially exciting period of Harry Potter and it was possible they were getting into it.香蕉视频直播�
Trick said she hopes to test other drivers, especially those who have experience commuting, to expand her research. She said she is also studying the effects of audiobooks on different aspects of road complexity.
香蕉视频直播淲hat we香蕉视频直播檙e trying to do is find ways to reduce the number of collisions on the road, especially those from distracted driving, which has become a major problem.香蕉视频直播�
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
