Behavior
Using Virtual Environments to Study Human Behavior in Two-Lane Roadway Environments in Older Adults Kshitij Sachdev* Kshitij Sachdev Ella Mucciolo Natalie Denburg Shoshannah Eggers Elizabeth O’Neal
Background: Older adults experience disproportionately high rates of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions, with cognitive and perceptual challenges contributing to this risk. This study examines the relationship between cognitive flexibility and road-crossing decisions in older adults, using a virtual environment to simulate real-world road crossing.
Methods: Participants (N = 43) aged 60-85 completed surveys and cognitive assessments, including tests from the NIH Cognitive Toolbox measuring cognitive flexibility. They crossed two lanes of opposing, continuous traffic 20 times using a head-mounted virtual environment display. For each gap pair (space between moving vehicles) seen, crossing decisions were modeled as a dichotomous outcome (crossed or not). Separate logistic mixed-effects regression models with random intercepts assessed the influence of gap size, cognitive flexibility, and their interaction on crossing decisions for the near and far lanes.
Results: The interaction between near-lane gap size and cognitive flexibility was significant (OR: 0.995, 95% CI: 0.992–0.998, p = 0.016), such that participants with lower levels of cognitive flexibility were more likely to prioritize larger near-lane gaps when making crossing decisions. Cognitive flexibility did not predict gap selection in the far lane. This significant modification suggests that individuals who have lower cognitive flexibility over-weigh the importance of near lane gap size relative to far lane gaps.
Conclusion: Older adults with reduced cognitive flexibility exhibit conservative crossing behavior, focusing primarily on selecting large near-lane gaps and disregarding the size of the far-lane gap. This oversight of the importance of far lane gap size may lead to unsafe collisions. These findings highlight the need for interventions, like Virtual Environment based training programs, targeting cognitive-perceptual calibration to improve crossing safety in older adults.