Tutorial on the Cognitive-Behavioral Implications of Driving with Music

The traffic psychology literature targeting driver behavior has scarcely investigated music as a source of inattention or distraction. There is great confusion regarding what is music, and the difference between 'music' versus 'auditory' stimuli is not always clear. Unfortunately, traffic and automotive researchers employing music in their investigations demonstrate little knowledge about musical structures (i.e., the actual complex of sound, rhythm, harmony), and further exhibit a total disregard for the level of rigor necessary to incorporate music stimuli within empirical frameworks. For the most part, exemplars selected as stimuli for studies have been contaminated, and conditions of exposure have been flawed. In general, hypotheses about in-car music listening are based on intuition without scientific grounding. It is no wonder that findings have typically inferred that 'music causes little, if any, effects'. This tutorial attempts to fill that gap and expose researchers of the automotive sciences to the effects of music on driver behavior. The session will offer guidelines for implementing future studies incorporating music.