James C. Mundt

AN APPLICATION OF INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE (IVR) TECHNOLOGY TO LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF DAILY BEHAVIOR

A relatively new technology-an interactive voice response (IVR) system-was used to collect selfreport data from 51 male subjects (21–56 years old) concerning daily tobacco and alcohol consumption over a 112-day period. After resolution of initial technical problems, the Touch-Tone data-entry methodology of the IVR was shown to provide notable advantages over traditional longitudinal self-report methodologies. The high compliance rate (93%) for this study was attributed to (1) implementation of important study design characteristics; (2) an innovative compensation scheme that reinforced consistent daily reporting and incorporated feedback to the subjects on a daily basis; (3) a simple, unobtrusive Touch-Tone data-entry interface with the interview and data-collection system that provided subjects with flexibility and time efficiency; and (4) direct coupling of the automated data-collection system and a relational database-management structure, providing immediate access and analysis of collected data.

Young drivers' evaluation of driving impairment due to alcohol

Ninety-six college students, 18-20 years of age, were selected from three drinking categories (abstain-light, moderate, and heavy) based on their self-reported drinking habits. Subjects rated the relative importance of three driving components (attention, control/maneuvering, and emergency responses) for safe driving and the impairment each component and overall driving ability would sustain after driver drinking. Impairment ratings were made of the effects of drinking the number of drinks that would have resulted in the rater having blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .05%, .10%, and .15%. Subjects also estimated the number of drinks that they could consume in one hour and then safely drive after after different time periods, the time they should wait before driving after drinking various amounts of alcohol, and the number of beer, wine, wine cooler, and whiskey drinks that would cause them to reach a .10% BAC. While the driving components were rated to be of approximately equal importance for safe driving, the emergency responses component was judged to be more impaired following alcohol consumption than any of the other components, or overall driving ability. Heavy drinkers judged that there was significantly less driving impairment due to alcohol than did light or moderate drinkers in the case of overall driving ability and all of the driving components except emergency responses. Heavy drinkers also judged it safe to consume a number of drinks before driving that would result in higher mean BACs than those of light and moderate drinkers. Both drinking category and gender differences were found in the estimated BAC values that would have occurred at the time of driving after waiting periods judged by subjects to be sufficient for safe driving.

Psychological performance assessment via interactive voice response systems

Two experiments examined the feasibility of psychological assessment using interactive voice response (IVR) technology and the potential sensitivity of such assessments to alcohol and fatigue effects. In Experiment 1, 10 subjects performed a 12-min battery of six IVR-administered tasks, Monday through Friday, over 2 weeks. Minimal learning effects were evident during training. Repeated administrations indicated high test-retest reliabilities. In Experiment 2 (double-blind, alcohol/placebo crossover design), 7 subjects were tested every 2 h over a 24-h period during two experimental sessions (peak blood alcohol concentrations =80 mg/dL). Several IVR-administered tasks were sensitive to alcohol impairment, but not as sensitive as laboratory-based measures specifically designed to assess alcohol impairment. Little evidence for fatigue-related impairment was obtained. The results support optimism for the potential to assess psychomotor and cognitive functioning distally via telephony; however, further refinement and validation of the methods are needed.

Conducting longitudinal studies of behavior using interactive voice response technology

Interactive voice response (IVR) systems represent a convergence of automated computerized interview techniques with telephone survey research. This convergence affords unparalleled opportunities for conducting longitudinal behavioral research. Our experiences, after several years of conducting multiple IVR studies investigating the circumstances and consequences of daily alcohol use patterns, continues to generate excitement regarding the research potential of this methodology. This article discusses design and implementation considerations, and potential pitfalls, for others interested in conducting this type of research. The discussion is structured around: (1) IVR script development, (2) programming implementation issues, (3) research administration of longitudinal IVR studies, and (4) database management and hardware configuration issues: The future of IVR research and further integration of developed and emerging technologies are also discussed.

Methodological issues for evaluation of alcohol and other drug effects: Examples from flight-simulator performance

Individual differences and idiosyncratic responses to alcohol and other drugs present challenges to researchers concerning how tasks should be structured and performance analyzed. Defined scenarios allow operators to perform known maneuvers over a predetermined time course to the best of their abilities, whereas episodic scenarios embed specific situations into more dynamic, realistic, and interactive testing sessions. Degraded performance in the defined scenarios is easily defined as deviations from a hypothetically perfect performance profile, but assessment of alcohol and other drug effects on individual performances in dynamic situations requires flexible analytic procedures. An example of scoring an episodic flight scenario event using flight-simulator data is given, and an interactive analysis system developed to analyze idiosyncratic pilot responses is described.

Effects of a Low Blood Alcohol Level on Pilot Performance

Pilots and non-pilots were tested on simulator flying tasks after attaining a .04% blood alcohol concentration and after ingestion of placebo drinks. Half of the pilots and half of the non-pilots were blind with respect to the contents of their drinks while half were informed. Two turbulence conditions were employed, and subjects were instructed to scan for aircraft silhouette targets that appeared on monitors in front and to the sides of the subject. The subjects task was to maintain straight and level flight, with the pilots given an additional flight segment during which the simulators instruments and external horizon display gradually indicated an unusual attitude, either a banked steep climb or banked steep descent, while the subject was performing other tasks such as copying weather information or changing radio settings. Head movements, control movements, time to detect targets, and simulator flight measures were digitized and computer recorded and analyzed. Alcohol affected the performance of pilots and non-pilots on several performance measures during straight and level flight. The performance of pilots during the divided attention unusual attitude flight segment was such that unsafe flight conditions would have resulted.

Teleoperation of Legged Vehicles: Unique Problems Associated with Walking and Foot Placement

Teleoperation of legged walking vehicles poses some interesting problems in display and control design. Informational needs associated with individual foot placement when traversing rough terrain are explained. Problems faced in meeting those needs and vision, display, and control system options are presented. Future research is also described.

Computer-based preference models for generic multidimensional problem sets

Alternative actions or objects can be characterized by differences among defining attributes or dimensions. Making choices among these alternatives is often a complex and difficult task, particularly when the number of alternatives or defining attributes is large or the time to decide is limited. This paper describes two programs that allow users to define a multidimensional problem domain and derive a multiplicative utility function that quantitatively describes their judgment policy within that domain. It also discusses potential applications for the derived preference models.

Object-motion sensitivity loss due to motion in the peripheral visual field

The effect of peripheral-field movement on detection of object motion was investigated in two experiments. In each experiment, 24 subjects judged the movement of targets while elements in the subject’s peripheral visual field were moving and while they were stationary. Targets were stationary or were moving at speeds between 6.2 and 23.1 minutes of visual arc per second. Target locations were to the left or right of (Experiment 1), or above or below (Experiment 2), a central fixation stimulus. Peripheral-field condition, direction of target movement, and speed of target movement significantly affected motion detection. The interaction between direction of target movement and speed of target movement was found to be significant in the analyses of both experiments. Target location was found to be a significant factor in Experiment 2, and sensitivity differences were found between horizontal and vertical target movement. The decrease in sensitivity due to peripheral-field motion did not depend upon subjects’ experiencing vection.