Question

Many factors can affect one’s ability to pay attention. Which of these factors would cause the most negative impact on the ability of a driver to react to adverse road conditions, such as a patch of black ice ?

• A. The individual is in an enhanced state of arousal.
• B. The skill of the driver is high.
• C. The maneuver required to avoid the obstacle is difficult.
• D. The driver has practiced evasive maneuvers before.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. The maneuver required to avoid the obstacle is difficult.

• Previous practice on any skill will improve performance.
• Although too high of an arousal state can be detrimental to attention, enhanced arousal can enhance attention.
• A person who is skilled at a task will require less attention to complete that task.
• A difficult or novel task will require more attention than a practiced or skilled task.
• Thus, the maneuver required to avoid the obstacle is difficult would be the correct answer.