Article: Discomfort glare is task dependent Journal: International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD) 1991 Vol.12 No.2 pp.152 - 159 Abstract: This study evaluated the effect of task difficulty on discomfort glare. Subjects performed two tasks on each trial. The first was a gap detection task, in which the subject indicated whether the gap had appeared on the top or bottom edge of the outline of a briefly projected square. The difficulty of this task was manipulated by changing the size of the gap in the square. The second was a discomfort-glare rating, in which the subject gave a numerical rating of the discomfort experienced from a glare source that was presented simultaneously with the gap-detection stimulus. The hypothesis was that the resulting changes in the difficulty of the gap-detection task would influence discomfort glare. The results indicate that (1) an increase in the difficulty of the gap-detection task resulted in an increase in discomfort glare, and (2) subjects with poorer overall gap detection performance tended to assign more discomfort to the glare stimuli than subjects with better gap-detection performance. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that discomfort glare is related to task difficulty. Consequently, a valid evaluation of discomfort glare in a given situation requires the presence of the relevant visual task. One interpretation is that task difficulty influences discomfort glare by modifying an observer|s perceived level of visual impairment. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Discomfort glare is task dependent

Authors: M. Sivak, M. Flannagan, M. Ensing, C.J. Simmons

Addresses: The University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150, USA. ' The University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150, USA. ' The University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150, USA. ' The University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150, USA

Abstract: This study evaluated the effect of task difficulty on discomfort glare. Subjects performed two tasks on each trial. The first was a gap detection task, in which the subject indicated whether the gap had appeared on the top or bottom edge of the outline of a briefly projected square. The difficulty of this task was manipulated by changing the size of the gap in the square. The second was a discomfort-glare rating, in which the subject gave a numerical rating of the discomfort experienced from a glare source that was presented simultaneously with the gap-detection stimulus. The hypothesis was that the resulting changes in the difficulty of the gap-detection task would influence discomfort glare. The results indicate that (1) an increase in the difficulty of the gap-detection task resulted in an increase in discomfort glare, and (2) subjects with poorer overall gap detection performance tended to assign more discomfort to the glare stimuli than subjects with better gap-detection performance. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that discomfort glare is related to task difficulty. Consequently, a valid evaluation of discomfort glare in a given situation requires the presence of the relevant visual task. One interpretation is that task difficulty influences discomfort glare by modifying an observer|s perceived level of visual impairment.

Keywords: discomfort glare; vehicle headlights; vehicle headlamps; vehicle lighting; task difficulty; disability glare; visual stimuli; gap detection; visual impairment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1991.061677

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1991 Vol.12 No.2, pp.152 - 159

Published online: 27 May 2014 *

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Title: Discomfort glare is task dependent

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