自動車開発とドライバ特性の評価に おける実験心理学的手法の活用と貢献

摘要

自動車技術会による『自動率の人間工学技術』の冒頭で，「自動車はヒト，社会との高度な融合関係を持ち相互に影響し合いながら作り出されてきた非常に多面的な性格を有する商品である」と述べられている.このことはドライバと自動車の相互作用のあり方が社会の変容や人間（ユーザ）のニーズの変化の影響をうけることを意味しており，極めて示唆的な意味合いをもっている.%The evaluation of driver' behavior and its underlying characteristics is an important issue for updating automotive design. Considering the history of experimental psychology, which focused on scientifically explaining internal human processes such as perception and cognition, the findings and research techniques of experimental psychology should be useful for this issue. In this article, some of the challenges of evaluating driver behavior and characteristics based on psychological experimentation were reviewed. A meaningful cooperation between experimental psychology and automotive engineering, as exemplified in this article, could facilitate the development of future vehicles that are more human-centered and therefore more acceptable to drivers.