Driving feedback: psychological factors influencing the effectiveness of feedback

Drivers often deviate from safe and sustainable driver behavior. Providing extrinsic feedback has been considered to be a promising strategy to increase drivers’ awareness and to promote behavior change. However, as yet, little is known about which factors influence the effectiveness of feedback. In three studies, employing the driving simulator, video-based tests, and scenarios, I investigated whether and to what extent cognitive and motivational factors related to the individual, the driving context, and feedback content influence the effectiveness of feedback on driving performance.

The results of my dissertation indicate that the presence of extrinsic feedback, as such, is not always sufficient to motivate and facilitate safe and sustainable driving behavior. Instead, providing clear guidelines directed at specific goals, as well as presenting information on worthwhile (rather than less-worthwhile) outcomes appear to improve the effectiveness of feedback. Hence, policy makers and engineers should take individual motives and cognitive limitations into account when designing and providing feedback to drivers, as these motives and cognitive limits ultimately drive the effectiveness of feedback.