Atchley, P. & Warden, A.C. (2012). The need of young adults to text now: Using delay discounting to
assess informational choice. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 1(4), 229-234.
Strayer, D.L., Drews, F.A. & Crouch, D.J. (2006) A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk
Driver.
Strayer, D.L., Drews, F.A., & Crouch, D.J. (2006). Comparing the cellphone driver and the drunk driver.
Human Factors, 48, 381–391
Strayer, D.L., Drews, F.A., & Johnston, W.A. (2003). Cell phone induced failures of visual attention during
simulated driving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9, 23–52.
Strayer, D.L., & Johnston, W.A. (2001). Driven to distraction: Dual-task studies of simulated driving and
conversing on a cellular phone. Psychological Science, 12, 462–466.
Examples of research and simulations done to discover which one people are more apt to do.
4 min. or more to text while driving. That is the length of a travel across a football field
blindfolded.
Abstract
Introduction
There are several texting behaviors that cause people who are driving to feel greatly compelled to begin
texting while driving. Behavior may change perceived risk. Cognitive dissonance minimizes the perceived
risk of texting and driving. Multitasking regarding texting while driving is not possible. Everyone will
admit that texting and driving is dangerous, nevertheless people continue to do it. Texting while driving
becomes a vivid reality check when reading the story about Reggie Shaw. Reggie Shaw was texting while
driving in 2006 and caused an accident that took the lives of two scientists. Reggie now speaks out
against texting and driving. There was a book written about his tragedy and then his redemption that
continues to go through. It is called “A deadly Wandering: A tale of tragedy and redemption in the age of
attention (Richtel, 2014).” Reggie is also featured in a documentary titled “From One Second to the
Next” that AT&T name is on to help with the cause of ending texting and driving. The risk factor of
texting and driving surpasses the level people are at when they are drinking and driving. When texting
while driving the quality of safe driving performance decreases substantially. The apathy toward texting
and driving contributes to the perceived risk behind the wheel.
1.Texting behaviors:
There are three types of texting that people do when they are texting behind the wheel. There is
responding to incoming texts, reading texts, and initiating texts. Initiating texts is to send text to invoke
a response from others. After students surveyed were done it was discovered only two percent of the
students had not participated in it at all. Meaning 98% of students were participating in one of these
forms of texting and driving.
2.Our Brain
Cognitive dissonance- minimize the perceived risk of texting and driving
Reclassification- reclassify the behavior
Behavior may change perceived risk. Cognitive dissonance theory is when someone involves themselves
in a negative behavior and perceives having a choice to do so, the perception decreases of how bad the
negative behavior is (Atchley, Atwood, & Boulton, 2010). In other words someone who chooses to text
and drive at the same time convince themselves that they are ok to do so, when really they are being
stupid and risking other people’s lives. A driver that chooses to text and drive will perceive it as less risky
than it really is because of cognitive dissonance. This study shows how cognitive dissonance affects how
people perceive the risk of texting and driving. Replying to text and initiating a text, are considered the
same functional behavior, and considered equally as risky by the driver. When initiating a text the driver
will perceive the danger as being calm or normal when in fact it may be very dangerous. This is called
reclassification. They reclassify the risk as being minimal. The driver that responds to a text reclassifies
this as being the sender’s fault. They convince themselves that they are responding back through texting
and driving because they are expected to.
3.Multitasking (What is definition in regards to media?)
Example:
Walking and chewing gum different because able to look around and observe surroundings
Texting and driving
There is a dual task in texting and driving which causes the driver to take their eyes off the road
four times as long causing problems such as drifting to another lane (Hosking et al., 2007).
4.Reasons having difficulty changing behavior to no texting and driving
Everyone will admit that texting and driving is dangerous, nevertheless people continue to do it.
Fulfills a social connection
Not able to make a rational decision because frontal lobe shut down and not enough
competitors active
Dopamine hit each time we feel the vibration of the phone and each time we send receive or
read a text. Crave that fix when we don’t get it feeling bored and begin to crave another hit of
dopamine.
5.Book “A deadly wandering: A tale of tragedy and redemption in the age of attention (Richtel, 2014).
Lots of research collected on effects of distracted driving.
Wandering- move slowly away from a fixed point or place.
Reggie Shaw story (2006), 19 yr. old killed 2 scientists texting and driving, didn’t remember he
was texting until later when Dr. Atchley was in Reggie’s court trial teaching about how the brain
functions while texting and driving.
6.MADD
Dr. Strayer has found that there is a sixfold increase in crash risks discovered through his
scientific data. There is a four-times increase in crashing when talking on the phone which is the
equivalent of drunk driving.
So what who cares?
It is super important no one else gets into an unnecessary accident from someone texting and
driving.
It is risking other people’s lives to save a couple of min.
I chose this subject because I am teaching my 15 year old daughter Heidi to drive. I haven’t been
a good example and am questioning my justifications to the risks of sending a new driver out on the
road who appears to not be able to go without looking at Instagram on a constant basis. Texting and
driving has been something that I have done in the past. I have justified my behavior by thinking I am
getting so much done by multitasking. It is one of those things that I know better but in the moment I
have all these reasons why I have to look at who texted me. Responding back to the person texting me
seems so important in the moment. I feel I am getting so much done. I felt that researching this subject
would help me to not continue this bad behavior and be a better example to my children. While this
may be true, more importantly I have learned some very disturbing information about the dangers of
texting and driving that I personally was not aware of. I learned that politics have kept the public from
being truly educated on this subject. I feel sharing this information is as important as the movement
back in the seventies when mothers against drinking and driving movement started. I appreciate all the
research that has been put in to study this subject to prove the seriousness of the risks.