Correlates of Frustration in the Electroencephalogram of drivers

Abstract

Aim: Frustration as a widely prevalent emotion has been shown to influence cognitive processes such as decision making and attention. Thus, showing its importance by affecting human behavior reaching from shaping the human-technology-interaction to potentially causing traffic accidents. The present study was set up to find correlates of frustration in a natural setting to pave the way for a physical measure of frustration. Eventually, this research could facilitate the comparison of less intrusive but intentionally regulated behavioral signs of frustration to its unintentional physical manifestations. This would enable the realization of interventions aimed at regulating frustration right at onset, which are based on more easily accessible data. Method: 19 participants completed four different frustration-inducing and two baseline driving scenarios in a driving simulator study. Participants’ brain activity was captured with the CGX quick-30 mobile EEG system. Subsequently, the participants continuously rated their frustration level based on an over-the-shoulder video of their drives. The resulting subjective measures were used to classify EEG time periods into episodes with or without frustration. Hypothesis: We expect to find hemispheric alpha band asymmetries in frontal electrodes corresponding to periods with vs. without frustration. In addition, further EEG patterns that have been found to correlate with frustration in previous studies will be investigated. Specifically, we will explore delta and theta frequency bands in the central electrodes, alpha bands in the posterior electrodes and beta bands in the frontal electrodes for a significant difference between episodes with and without a subjectively rated presence of frustration.