On working memory and a productivity illusion in distracted driving.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.06.008
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Summary
Driving-simulator + memory study (Watson, Memmott, Moffitt, Coleman, Turrill, Fernández, Strayer; U. Utah + U. Colorado Denver + U. Salamanca; J Appl Res Mem Cogn 5, 2016) testing whether using a cell phone while driving — claimed by drivers to increase productivity — actually impairs both driving and episodic memory. Three within-subject conditions: (1) single-task simulator driving, (2) single-task Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false-memory paradigm (encoding + retrieval), (3) dual-task driving + DRM. Dual-tasking impaired both driving performance and episodic memory accuracy compared to single-task baselines, with high false-recall of non-presented critical lures under dual-task. Participants relied increasingly on reconstructive (gist-based) memory under dual-task conditions, producing dissociable effects on accurate vs false memory.
Key finding
Distracted-driving multitasking does not free up productivity: it bidirectionally impairs both driving and memory, and shifts memory toward error-prone reconstructive (gist-based) processes that produce high false-recall on the DRM paradigm. The 'productivity illusion' — drivers' belief that cell-phone use makes them more productive — is contradicted by the data. Supports working-memory theories that emphasize domain-free cognitive control and goal maintenance under interference.
Methodology
Lab study with high-fidelity driving simulator + DRM false-memory paradigm. Three within-subject conditions (single-task drive, single-task memory, dual-task). Participants completed DRM word lists (encoding + free-recall + recognition); driving measured standard simulator outcomes. False-recall and false-recognition of non-presented critical lures analyzed alongside accurate memory measures.
Sample size: N=38 (19F) at U. Utah; from larger pool with exclusions for prior DRM knowledge (N=6), motion sickness (N=2), simulator/recording problems (N=4), invalid license (N=1), instruction failure (N=1), driving-data outlier (N=1).
Quality score: 5 / 5