Listen before you drive: the effect of voice familiarity on listening comprehension and driving performance

Abstract

Objective Voice familiarity has been reported to reduce cognitive load in complex listening environments. The extent to which the reduction in listening effort allows for mental resources to be reallocated to other complex tasks needs further investigation. We sought to answer whether a familiar audiobook narrator provides benefits to (1) listening comprehension and/or (2) driving performance. Design A double-blind between-groups design was implemented. Participants were randomly assigned to the Familiar group or the Unfamiliar group. Study sample Participants (n = 30) were normal-hearing adults, 18 to 28-years-old (M = 23, SD = 2.6) (n = 18 female). Participants first listened to an audiobook read by either Voice 1 (Familiar condition) or Voice 2 (Unfamiliar condition). Then they completed a virtual reality driving task while listening to a second audiobook, always read by Voice 1. Audiobook comprehension (30-question multiple-choice test) and driving performance (number of driving errors made) were recorded. Results Participants in the Familiar group made fewer driving errors than participants in the Unfamiliar group. There were no differences in listening comprehension. Conclusions Increased voice familiarity positively impacts behaviour (i.e. reduced driving errors) in normal-hearing adults. We discuss our findings in the context of effortful listening frameworks.