TY - JOUR

T1 - Influence of person- and situation-specific characteristics on collision avoidance behavior in human locomotion

AU - Knorr, Alexander G.

AU - Willacker, Lina

AU - Hermsdörfer, Joachim

AU - Glasauer, Stefan

AU - Krüger, Melanie

PY - 2016/9/1

Y1 - 2016/9/1

N2 - In everyday situations, pedestrians deploy successful strategies to avoid collisions with other persons crossing their paths. In this study, 2 experiments were conducted to investigate to what extent personal or situational characteristics affect role attribution and contribution to successful collision avoidance in human locomotion. Pairs of subjects walked at their natural speed from a start to a goal point. Walking paths were defined in such a way that subjects would collide halfway on their trajectory, if they did not actively avoid colliding by speed or path adjustments. In the first experiment, we investigated whether crossing order, path, and speed adjustments correlate with subject-specific parameters, such as gender, height, and personality traits. It is interesting that individuals' collision avoidance behavior was not correlated with any of these factors. In the second experiment, initial walking speed and heading were used to predict the crossing order. It was found that these 2 parameters are sufficient to estimate future role attribution with 95% confidence already 2.5 m before the crossing; that is, even before any collision avoidance behavior is initiated. In sum, this suggests that collision avoidance strategies in human locomotion are based on situational rather than on personal characteristics. These situational characteristics result in role attributions, which are highly predictable within and across pairs of pedestrians, whereby the role-dependent contribution of the pedestrian giving way is of greater relevance for successful collision avoidance

AB - In everyday situations, pedestrians deploy successful strategies to avoid collisions with other persons crossing their paths. In this study, 2 experiments were conducted to investigate to what extent personal or situational characteristics affect role attribution and contribution to successful collision avoidance in human locomotion. Pairs of subjects walked at their natural speed from a start to a goal point. Walking paths were defined in such a way that subjects would collide halfway on their trajectory, if they did not actively avoid colliding by speed or path adjustments. In the first experiment, we investigated whether crossing order, path, and speed adjustments correlate with subject-specific parameters, such as gender, height, and personality traits. It is interesting that individuals' collision avoidance behavior was not correlated with any of these factors. In the second experiment, initial walking speed and heading were used to predict the crossing order. It was found that these 2 parameters are sufficient to estimate future role attribution with 95% confidence already 2.5 m before the crossing; that is, even before any collision avoidance behavior is initiated. In sum, this suggests that collision avoidance strategies in human locomotion are based on situational rather than on personal characteristics. These situational characteristics result in role attributions, which are highly predictable within and across pairs of pedestrians, whereby the role-dependent contribution of the pedestrian giving way is of greater relevance for successful collision avoidance

KW - Interpersonal coordination

KW - Obstacle avoidance

KW - Path adjustments

KW - Prediction

KW - Speed adjustments

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961266614&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/xhp0000223

DO - 10.1037/xhp0000223

M3 - Article

C2 - 26999273

AN - SCOPUS:84961266614

VL - 42

SP - 1332

EP - 1343

JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

SN - 0096-1523

IS - 9

ER -