What Factors Influence the Relationship Between Feedback on Cognitive Performance and Subsequent Driving Self-Regulation?

J Appl Gerontol. 2016 Jun;35(6):653-63. doi: 10.1177/0733464814529473. Epub 2014 Apr 21.

Abstract

Recent research indicates that providing feedback about cognitive abilities (i.e., UFOV® test performance) may change driving self-regulation; however, 42% of participants who received negative feedback failed to increase driving self-regulation (Ackerman, Ball, Crowe, Owsley, Vance, & Wadley, 2011). The current study extends those findings, using the same sample (N = 129) to investigate factors that may influence the relationship between feedback regarding cognitive abilities and driving self-regulation. Feedback by age and feedback by number of eye conditions showed significant interactions, and feedback by baseline driving exposure interaction approached significance. Older participants (80-94; n = 38) who received negative feedback significantly increased subsequent avoidance of challenging driving conditions relative to baseline. Participants with no reported eye conditions (n = 36) who received negative feedback significantly increased subsequent driving avoidance, and participants below median baseline driving exposure (n = 66) tended to increase subsequent driving avoidance. These results identify individual level factors that may influence the relationship between feedback regarding cognitive abilities and self-regulation and have implications for encouraging older adults to make informed decisions about appropriate driving behavior.

Keywords: driving avoidance; driving exposure; moderation; older drivers; self-regulation.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Alabama
  • Automobile Driving / psychology*
  • Cognition*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Self-Control*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires