Determination of auditory stimuli for the auditory variant of the detection response task method

Abstract

The Detection Response Task (DRT) is a method for measuring the attentional effects of secondary tasks on driver’s cognitive load and was standardized by ISO in 2016 [1]. It observes response times and stimuli detection performance (hit rates) to different stimuli types – visual, tactile and auditory – as indirect indicators of changes in cognitive load. ISO 17488 [1] standard provides instructions for technical implementation and measurement methods only for the visual and tactile versions (use of visual and tactile stimuli) of the DRT method. In this study, we try to find the most appropriate auditory stimulus for technical implementation also for the auditory version of the method. This paper presents results of a user study in which responses to different auditory DRT stimuli were compared while inducing users’ cognitive load with a modified n – back task, also known as Delayed Digit Recall task [2].