Cognitive Control in a Driving Simulation

Ego Depletion theory suggests that the human brain operates on a limited reserve of cognitive control and that when this limited reserve of cognitive control is used on one task, there is a refractory period in which the brain is in a state of "ego depletion" and has less cognitive control to draw from when performing subsequent tasks requiring cognitive control. This state of ego depletion results in an increased likelihood of giving in to urges, temptations, and impulses. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ego depletion has real world implications, such as distracted driving. To test the theory, one group of subjects was asked to complete a writing task which required constant habit inhibition, this was the experimental group. Previous literature suggests that constant habit inhibition successfully depletes the reserve of cognitive control and results in increased chances of participants giving in to temptations, urges, and impulses for a time period afterwards. A second group of subjects completed a similar writing task which did not require constant habit inhibition, this was the control group. Both groups then participated in a driving simulation video-game and were told to do their best on the task. At the start of the driving game, an iPhone was placed to the right of the participant and one minute in to the driving task, a text message was sent to the phone to sound and vibrate. The participants' eye movements were tracked during the driving simulation using a video webcam. It was hypothesized that participants in the experimental group were expected to be in a state of ego depletion during the driving task and therefore were expected to be more likely to give in to their impulse to take their eyes off the driving task to look at the iPhone screen.