Abstract
Road crossing is an everyday task that requires integration of information (e.g., speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle) to effectively guide behaviour. The embodied perception perspective suggests that individuals’ perception of environmental stimuli is influenced by their psychophysiological state. Upon this premise, the current study examined whether acute physical fatigue influences visual perception and associated decision-making in road crossing. Using a between-subject design, 54 participants (healthy adults, aged 18–35) were divided into a fatigue and no-fatigue group. To manipulate fatigue, participants completed a vigorous cycling protocol (fatigue group) or a light cycling protocol (no-fatigue group) prior to completing a video-based examination of road crossing decisions (cross vs. not cross; action-based) and verbal judgments of speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle. Measures of heart rate, self-perceived recovery, and preferred walking speed indicated that fatigue was successfully induced (all p’s < 0.03). Participants effectively distinguished between different speeds (30–50–70 km/h; p < 0.001), and distances (10–100 m in 10 m increments; p < 0.001). Moreover, both vehicle speed and distance (p’s < 0.001) significantly influenced road crossing decisions. However, no significant effects of fatigue were observed for visual perception or road crossing decisions (all p’s > 0.26). This study demonstrated that individuals are sensitive to changes in vehicle speed and distance and respond to these changes in making road crossing decisions. In contrast to the embodied perception perspective, however, physical fatigue did not alter perceptual judgments of vehicle speed and distance nor did it influence road crossing decisions in a video-simulated road crossing environment.
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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Sally Su and Hayley Calvert for their assistance with data collection.
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by RS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RS and AN commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Sullivan, R., Nieuwenhuys, A. Physical fatigue and its effect on road crossing decisions: an examination of the embodied perception perspective. Psychological Research 86, 1397–1409 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01570-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01570-x