Detecting sources of anger in automated driving: driving-related and external factor
DOI: 10.3389/fnrgo.2025.1548861
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Summary
This study investigates whether the source of anger—driving-related events versus external factors—produces distinct physiological and ocular responses in automated driving contexts. With the rise of autonomous vehicles, drivers are expected to engage in non-driving activities, potentially increasing anger stemming from external sources like rumination. Understanding these distinctions is critical for developing effective driver state monitoring systems, as anger negatively impacts driving performance and safety. The research specifically asks if physiological and ocular indicators vary depending on the anger source and whether combining these sources intensifies the emotional response. The researchers employed a between-subjects factorial design with 47 participants in a simulated autonomous driving environment. Participants were divided into four groups exposed to different combinations of anger induction: Autobiographical Recall (AR) for external anger, Driving Scenarios (DS) for driving-related anger, both, or neither (neutral). Data collection included cardiac and respiratory signals via ECG and respiration belts, ocular metrics via eye-tracking, and subjective emotional assessments using dimensional and categorical scales. The study analyzed heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), breath rate, and visual scanning patterns, comparing delta scores from baseline to post-induction states. The results indicated that combined anger induction (both AR and DS) led to significantly higher subjective anger ratings and greater heart rate variability compared to neutral conditions. However, when examined separately, individual anger sources (AR alone or DS alone) did not produce significant differences in physiological responses or ocular strategies. This suggests that the specific origin of the anger is less critical than the cumulative intensity of the emotional state. The study found no distinct physiological signature that could reliably differentiate between driving-related and external anger sources in isolation. The findings imply that future research and driver monitoring systems should focus on the overall interplay of contributing factors rather than attempting to distinguish between individual anger sources. The combination of anger-inducing events is more likely to provoke a heightened state of anger than isolated triggers. Consequently, detection systems should prioritize identifying the cumulative dynamic of anger rather than its specific cause. This approach may enhance the effectiveness of in-car monitoring systems, contributing to safer driving conditions in automated vehicles by addressing the total emotional load on the driver.
Key finding
Combined anger induction from both driving-related and external sources elicited higher subjective anger and physiological arousal than individual sources, which did not differ significantly from each other.
Methodology
simulator
Sample size: 47
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via verifier_reassess on 2026-05-08.
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-07 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-06 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-07 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-07 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 15 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: physiological data