Inducing erroneous behavior in a driving simulator with gamification

Abstract

Gamification elements like leader boards can be used to influence motivation and therefore behavior of people. This could be used in a driving simulator study to persuade the participant to misbehave. Such behavior is required to test participants' reactions to intervening assistance systems. In a short preliminary study (n=7), it was explored if a competitive element enables the introduction of time pressure and a high involvement in a distraction task in a driving simulator. Beside a short questionnaire, the driving behavior was observed and qualitatively evaluated. While all participants felt motivated by the possibility to compete with their colleagues, the creation of time pressure was not successful. Though, the effects of said distraction and time pressure on the driving behavior was noticeable. Finally, recommendations for the design of specific situations that induce a certain behavior in the simulator are derived from the results.