There is a growing amount of research evaluating behavioral approaches for skill acquisition in sports. Few of these studies have focused on yoga and skill acquisition. There is a need for a low effort yet effective way to teach yoga postures to individuals who do not take private yoga classes and may practice at home. This study evaluated the effects of using a picture-based task analysis and self-evaluation on the skill acquisition of yoga postures. A multiple baseline across yoga postures was used. During the task analyses intervention, the participants received a task analysis, performed the posture, and scored the task analysis upon the completion of the posture. Results showed that the task-analysis and self-evaluation increased the accuracy of all the poses.

Übung beeinflusst nicht nur wie sondern auch welche Information verarbeitet wird. Die bisherige Forschung zur Informationsreduktion (Haider & Frensch, 1996) hat die Wichtigkeit des letzteren Aspektes für den kognitiven Fertigkeitserwerb herausgearbeitet. Informationsreduktion tritt in Situationen auf, in denen Aufgaben sowohl relevante als auch irrelevante Information enthalten. Informationsreduktion stellt einen Strategiewechsel dar, bei dem ein Übergang von einer Strategie, die das Prozessieren aller Elemente einer Aufgabe beinhaltet, hin zu einer Strategie, bei der nur die relevanten Elemente prozessiert werden, stattfindet. Einerseits wurde in vielen Kontexten (z.B. Psychologie der Mensch-Maschine Interaktion, Pädagogische-, und Sport-Psychologie) beobachtet, dass Menschen dazu neigen, irrelevante Information nach mehrfacher Darbietung zu ignorieren. Andererseits ist sowohl hinsichtlich der theoretischen Auseinandersetzung mit Strategiewechsel im kognitiven Fertigkeitserwerb, als auch aus praktischer Sicht nicht genügend geklärt, wie Informationsreduktion stattfindet und welche Faktoren fördernd bzw. hemmend wirken. In der hier zusammengefassten Forschung, hatten Probandinnen und Probanden die Aufgabe zu prüfen, ob alphanumerische Zeichenketten dem Alphabet folgen oder nicht. Die Zeichenketten bestanden aus zwei Teilen. Einer der beiden Teile war immer korrekt und daher letztlich irrelevant. Da verschiedene Zeichenketten unterschiedlich oft pro Übungsblock präsentiert wurden, konnte ermittelt werden, ob Informationsreduktion Item-spezifisch oder Item-generell stattfindet. Die Frage ist also, ob die Versuchspersonen den irrelevanten Teil für jede Zeichenkette einzeln zu ignorieren lernen, oder aber die Fertigkeit zum Ignorieren des irrelevanten Teiles auf einmal für alle Zeichenketten erwerben. Letzteres traf zu, Informationsreduktion fand Item-generell statt. Die Befunde sind inkonsistent mit der Annahme dass Strategiewechsel im Allgemeinen und Informationsreduktion im Besonderen, ausschließlich durch Item-spezifische, datengetriebene Lernprozesse erklärbar sind und willkürliche Entscheidungen beim Strategiewechsel folglich keine Rolle spielen. Statt dessen deuten die Daten (Reaktionszeiten, Fixationen, Transfer-Fehler) darauf hin, dass Strategiewechsel top-down moduliert sind. / Practice not only affects how but also which information is processed. Past research on Information Reduction (Haider & Frensch, 1996) has underscored the importance of the latter aspect for cognitive skill acquisition. Information Reduction applies in situations in which tasks contain both relevant and irrelevant information, and denotes a change from a strategy involving processing all elements of a task to a processing-relevant-elements-only strategy. On the one hand, it has been repeatedly observed in a broad range of contexts (e.g., human-machine interaction, educational and sports psychology) that people tend to ignore irrelevant information after repeated exposure. On the other hand, both from the perspective of theories on skill acquisition and for practical concerns, it is not sufficiently understood how Information Reduction takes place and which factors foster or impede it. In the research presented here, participants had the task to verify whether or not alphanumeric strings followed the alphabetical order. These strings were a compound of two parts, one of which was always correct and thus effectively irrelevant. As the different strings were repeated at different rates per practice block, it could be tested whether people learn to ignore irrelevant aspects of a task string by string or rather once and for all strings. Information Reduction was item-general rather than item-specific. The data are inconsistent with the view that strategy change in general, and Information Reduction in particular, is exclusively based on item-specific data-driven learning processes, bare of the involvement of a voluntary decision. Rather, RTs, fixations, and transfer errors indicated that strategy change entails top-down modulation.

The aim of the research described in this thesis is to improve our understanding of how the central nervous system (CNS) integrates feedback information from different sensory modalities to permit skill acquisition, and the subsequent consolidation of that skill, when exposed to a novel visuomotor environment. Indeed, such adaptation must be consolidated and recalled when appropriate such that we do not have to continually relearn skills we once possessed. By manipulating the sensory feedback available from the visual and proprioceptive systems during learning, it is possible to determine those facets of the sensory feedback that are essential for adaptation to occur. The thesis consists of seven chapters. The first and last provide a conceptual basis for, and an overall discussion of, the research. Chapter 2 reviews current visuomotor adaptation research, with particular focus on the manner in which information about novel tasks is stored within the CNS as we adapt, and the sensory information that is necessary to allow this adaptation to occur. Furthermore, this chapter serves to introduce many of the experimental techniques that are used to investigate motor learning in humans. Chapter 3 is a report of an investigation of the issues of interference and consolidation in an isometric target acquisition task. Exposure to a 30° counter-clockwise (CCW) rotation was followed by a period of rest, trials with no rotation, or trials with a 60° clockwise (CW) rotation. Retention of the initial adaptation was assessed 5 hours later. Full interference was manifested in circumstances in which either counter-rotated or non-rotated trials were encountered following the initial learning period. These results are consistent with the view that the observed interference is anterograde in nature, and highlight differences in the mechanisms employed by the CNS when compensating for novel kinematics (e.g. visuomotor rotations) compared with adapting to novel dynamics (e.g. external forces). Chapter 4 is a report of an investigation of the role of visual feedback in adapting to novel visuomotor environments in an isometric target acquisition task. Following trials with no rotation, participants adapted to a 60° CCW visuomotor rotation before returning to the non-rotated condition. Separate groups received either continuous visual feedback (CF) of cursor position during task execution or post-trial visual feedback (PF), both indicating task performance. One CF group were instructed to make any (feedback) modifications necessary during the task to reduce errors and acquire the target, while another CF group were instructed to make uncorrected, ballistic movements. Colour cues permitted the identification of the task environment (nonrotated/ rotated) on every trial. The results indicate that an automatic recalibration of the visuomotor mapping occurs when CF is provided, and suggest that performance improvements with PF may occur via the adoption of a cognitively mediated strategy. Furthermore, execution of feedback motor commands to correct errors did not enhance the adaptation that occurred when CF was provided, indicating that the perception of sensory errors (and not feedback commands that may be applied to reduce those errors) drives feedforward visuomotor adaptation. To investigate whether additional proprioceptive feedback associated with movement altered the adaptation patterns observed in chapter 4, a study similar to that reported in chapter 4 was undertaken, and is reported in chapter 5. In this instance a discrete, goaldirected, movement task replaced the isometric task. Subjects were deprived of vision of their arm, but were provided with PF or CF indicating task performance. The patterns of adaptation noted in the isometric task were also exhibited in this dynamic task, indicating that the timing of the visual feedback of task performance has a profound effect on how performance improvements in a novel visuomotor rotation occur. The experiment reported in Chapter 6 assessed the ability to adapt to two conflicting visuomotor rotations interleaved within the same training period, when each task variant (rotation) could be identified by contextual (colour) cues. While full dual adaptation was not observed, the results suggest that the colour cues may have been utilised to explicitly select distinct motor commands for each task rotation.

The aim of the research described in this thesis is to improve our understanding of how the central nervous system (CNS) integrates feedback information from different sensory modalities to permit skill acquisition, and the subsequent consolidation of that skill, when exposed to a novel visuomotor environment. Indeed, such adaptation must be consolidated and recalled when appropriate such that we do not have to continually relearn skills we once possessed. By manipulating the sensory feedback available from the visual and proprioceptive systems during learning, it is possible to determine those facets of the sensory feedback that are essential for adaptation to occur. The thesis consists of seven chapters. The first and last provide a conceptual basis for, and an overall discussion of, the research. Chapter 2 reviews current visuomotor adaptation research, with particular focus on the manner in which information about novel tasks is stored within the CNS as we adapt, and the sensory information that is necessary to allow this adaptation to occur. Furthermore, this chapter serves to introduce many of the experimental techniques that are used to investigate motor learning in humans. Chapter 3 is a report of an investigation of the issues of interference and consolidation in an isometric target acquisition task. Exposure to a 30° counter-clockwise (CCW) rotation was followed by a period of rest, trials with no rotation, or trials with a 60° clockwise (CW) rotation. Retention of the initial adaptation was assessed 5 hours later. Full interference was manifested in circumstances in which either counter-rotated or non-rotated trials were encountered following the initial learning period. These results are consistent with the view that the observed interference is anterograde in nature, and highlight differences in the mechanisms employed by the CNS when compensating for novel kinematics (e.g. visuomotor rotations) compared with adapting to novel dynamics (e.g. external forces). Chapter 4 is a report of an investigation of the role of visual feedback in adapting to novel visuomotor environments in an isometric target acquisition task. Following trials with no rotation, participants adapted to a 60° CCW visuomotor rotation before returning to the non-rotated condition. Separate groups received either continuous visual feedback (CF) of cursor position during task execution or post-trial visual feedback (PF), both indicating task performance. One CF group were instructed to make any (feedback) modifications necessary during the task to reduce errors and acquire the target, while another CF group were instructed to make uncorrected, ballistic movements. Colour cues permitted the identification of the task environment (nonrotated/ rotated) on every trial. The results indicate that an automatic recalibration of the visuomotor mapping occurs when CF is provided, and suggest that performance improvements with PF may occur via the adoption of a cognitively mediated strategy. Furthermore, execution of feedback motor commands to correct errors did not enhance the adaptation that occurred when CF was provided, indicating that the perception of sensory errors (and not feedback commands that may be applied to reduce those errors) drives feedforward visuomotor adaptation. To investigate whether additional proprioceptive feedback associated with movement altered the adaptation patterns observed in chapter 4, a study similar to that reported in chapter 4 was undertaken, and is reported in chapter 5. In this instance a discrete, goaldirected, movement task replaced the isometric task. Subjects were deprived of vision of their arm, but were provided with PF or CF indicating task performance. The patterns of adaptation noted in the isometric task were also exhibited in this dynamic task, indicating that the timing of the visual feedback of task performance has a profound effect on how performance improvements in a novel visuomotor rotation occur. The experiment reported in Chapter 6 assessed the ability to adapt to two conflicting visuomotor rotations interleaved within the same training period, when each task variant (rotation) could be identified by contextual (colour) cues. While full dual adaptation was not observed, the results suggest that the colour cues may have been utilised to explicitly select distinct motor commands for each task rotation.

Specialistofficeren är kompetensbärare i Försvarsmakten och löser uppgifter inom all Försvarsmaktens verksamhet. För att vara kompetensbärare krävs att specialistofficeren utvecklar djup kunskap inom sitt arbetsområde. Försvarsmakten har de senaste 40 åren genomfört en mängd förändringar i sitt befälssystem och den senast införda, 2008 då tvåbefälssystem återinfördes, har inte genomförts fullt ut vilket leder till att specialistofficerare har svårt att få möjlighet att kompetensutveckla sig till det kompetensdjup som krävs för att verka som kompetensbärare. Försvarsmakten och Armén har insett att införandet avstannat och har därför infört nya riktlinjer för att underlätta införandet, varvid den senaste kom 2019.  Den här studien syftar till att förstå förutsättningar, hinder, möjligheter samt förväntningar, avseende kompetensutveckling av specialistofficerare vid två strategiskt viktiga förband, Lv6 och P18. Datan till studien är insamlad från specialistofficerare verksamma vid de två förbanden. Vid genomförandet av studien framkom att det finns förutsättningar i form av gamla strukturer som lever kvar trots skifte av befälssystem och hindrar kompetensutvecklingen av individer. Exempel på hinder är att det gamla befälssystemet inte avvecklats i samband med införandet utav det nya. Ytterligare ett exempel är att dagens specialistofficerare saknar incitament för att kompetensutveckla sig. De har dock fortfarande en stark vilja att utveckla sig, även när de saknar formella kompetenser. Förväntningarna på Försvarsmaktens riktlinjer är höga, då de på olika nivåer belyser vad som måste omhändertas för att specialistofficerens kompetensutveckling skall fungera.  Studiens främsta slutsats är att omställningen av befälssystemet måste slutföras för att specialistofficerarna skall få den möjlighet att kompetensutvecklas och utveckla de kompetensdjup som Försvarsmaktens riktlinjer föreskriver och som organisationen behöver för att utvecklas och lösa sina uppgifter. / The non-commissioned officer (NCO) is the competence bearer in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) and manages activities in all SAF tasks. In order to be a competence bearer the NCO has to develop deep knowledge within his or hers field of expertise. The SAF has, during the last 40 years, implemented a large number of changes in its command system. The latest change made in 2008, when the NCOs Corps was reinstated, has not been fully implemented which has led to difficulties for an NCO to acquire opportunities to develop the abilities required and proficiency needed to be a viable competence bearer. The SAF and the army have realized that the implementation process has stalled and therefore have issued new guidelines to restart the process, of which the latest was issued in 2019.  The study’s aim was to acquire knowledge about the prerequisites, hindrances, possibilities and expectations regarding acquirement of competence for NCOs in two strategical important units, Lv6 and P18.  The study’s data was collected from active NCOs serving in the two units.    During the execution of the study, prerequisites in the form of old structures emerged that, in spite of the changes in the command system, still lives on and is a hindrance to the NCOs acquisition of skills. An example is the old command system not being dismantled in conjunction with the implementation of the new system. Another example is that today’s NCOs lack incentives for the acquirement of deeper knowledge. They still possess a strong will to enhance themselves, even when they lack formal requirements. The expectations of the SAF guidelines are high, since they highlight what needs to be addressed at different levels for the NCOs acquisition of skills to be successful.        The study’s primary conclusion is that the transition to the new command system must be completed to allow the NCOs the opportunity to develop their skillsets to the required levels that the guidelines stipulate and the organization needs to evolve and manage its activities.

Social-comparative feedback (i.e., providing a learner with information regarding his/her performance relative to a group average) has been shown to influence a learner’s psychological and behavioural outcomes during motor skill acquisition (Avila, Chiviacowsky, Wulf, & Lewthwaite, 2012; Eliasz, 2012; Lewthwaite & Wulf, 2010; McKay, Lewthwaite, & Wulf, 2012; Stoate, Wulf, & Lewthwaite, 2012; Wulf, Chiviacowsky, & Cardozo, 2014; Wulf, Chiviacowsky, & Lewthwaite, 2010, 2012; Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016). This research indicates that motor skill acquisition is facilitated when learners believe they are performing better than the average, regardless of their actual performance. It has been suggested (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016) that a better-than-average mindset enhances psychological factors such as self-efficacy and motivation and in turn, actual behaviour. However, there is also evidence to suggest that self-efficacy (having state-like properties) and motivation (having both state and trait-like properties) are related in terms of their affective influence on learning (Bandura, 1997; Schunk, 1990, 1991, 1995) but the relationship between the two constructs and its subsequent outcomes remain unclear. Even though individual differences in motivation have been suggested to influence self-efficacy beliefs, they have been largely ignored in this line of research. There is also evidence to suggest that learners possessing high levels of motivation (whether that may be at a trait or state level) may not interpret feedback in the same manner (Aronson, 1992; Festinger, 1957; Frey, 1986; Harmon-Jones, 2012; Harmon-Jones & Harmon-Jones, 2002; Harmon-Jones, Harmon-Jones, Fearn, Sigelman, & Johnson, 2008; Harmon-Jones & Mills, 1999; Harmon-Jones, Schmeichel, Inzlicht, & Harmon- Jones, 2011; Steele, 1988). Therefore, the goal of this dissertation is use both theoretical and applied perspectives to examine the degree to which social- comparative feedback affects psychological and behavioural outcomes in highly- motivated learners (e.g., medical trainees) learning procedural skills. Independent of actual performance, we provided manipulated feedback information to novice pre-clerkship medical trainees while they were learning motor skills to suggest that they were performing better or worse than the average. The first study used a basic sequential key-press learning task (Eliasz, 2012) and a basic suturing task to explore the role of social-comparative feedback in medical trainees and tested whether features of the task were important (i.e., basic laboratory task or technical skill task) during the interpretation of this feedback. The second study used the same experimental paradigm to extend our results to a relevant medical education context (i.e., medical trainees learning basic suturing techniques). The final study examined whether the credibility of the feedback provider (i.e., expert versus peer) played a role in how social-comparative feedback was being internalized by novice medical trainees. Our initial study demonstrated that, compared to those receiving positive or no social-comparative feedback, medical trainees receiving negative social- comparative feedback during motor skill acquisition had significant difficulties in learning both the laboratory and technical skill task. These findings suggested that compared to other learners, novice medical trainees (a subset of highly-motivated learners), responded differently to social-comparative feedback. The second study replicated this pattern and revealed that medical trainees receiving below-average feedback during technical skill acquisition experienced significant detriments to their performance, learning and self-efficacy. Our final study found that regardless of the feedback source (hypothetical expert versus another peer), the experience of receiving negative social-comparative feedback impacted self- reported psychological measures and the immediate performance of a basic surgical technique. This dissertation provides, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration that medical trainees, a subset of highly-motivated learners, interpret social-comparative feedback differently than other learners studied in the literature. More specifically, receiving positive social-comparative feedback did not facilitate the learning process as found in previous studies with non-medical learners, while the delivery of negative social-comparative feedback, irrespective of task or feedback provider, was psychologically and behaviourally detrimental to novice medical trainees learning motor skills. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation includes three original studies designed to examine the effects of social-comparative feedback during skill acquisition in highly- motivated learners (e.g., medical trainees). Regardless of actual task performance, novice medical trainees who were provided with feedback during the learning process indicating that they were performing worse than the group average, experienced significant detriments to their psychological and behavioural outcomes. This effect was present regardless of the task being learned (i.e., key- pressing or suturing) or who was delivering the feedback (i.e., a hypothetical ‘expert’ or ‘peer’). Receiving better-than-average feedback did not result in any additional psychological and behavioural benefits. Contrary to the research with non-medical students, where “you are above-average” social-comparative feedback facilitates learning and “you are below-average” social-comparative feedback is no different than a control condition, these studies suggest that the experience of receiving below-average feedback during the learning process can be detrimental for highly-motivated novice learners. These findings are important to consider in both the context of feedback delivery and remediation as they provide evidence that novice medical trainees, regardless of the task and feedback provider, experience difficulty in receiving information that they are performing relatively poorly compared to their peers.

No description available.

<p>Two studies were conducted to examine the effects of learner-adapted practice on the self-efficacy beliefs, acquisition and retention of a motor task. Through a discovery process all participants learned to perform several keypress patterns, with the goal of completing each sequence as fast and accurate as possible. The first experiment had learners practice the keypress sequences in one of two adaptive schedules, which utilized either a ‘WinSwitch’ or ‘WinRepeat’ task switching algorithm, or follow a pre-determined order of tasks (two yoked-control groups). The purpose of this experiment was to determine if adaptive schedules were effective because they were tailored to a learner’s performance characteristics or due to the nature of the contextual interference employed by the switching algorithm when the 'winning' criterion was satisfied. To examine the psychological factors involved in adaptive practice, the second experiment had all groups practice in a ‘WinSwitch Adaptive’ schedule and manipulated the social-comparative feedback that was provided (positive, negative or control). Together these studies revealed that the effectiveness of adaptive schedules may not necessarily be due to the fact that they are tailored to a learner's performance characteristics. They also suggest that learning is facilitated by a switching algorithm that involves some blocked practice towards the beginning and mostly random practice towards the end of acquisition (WinRepeat schedule). However, providing positive social-comparative feedback can override the negative effects of the opposite schedule (WinSwitch) and result in more effective learning and increases in self-efficacy beliefs. These findings are discussed in reference to contextual interference effects and the self-efficacy framework.</p> / Master of Science in Kinesiology

Hintergrund: Lernprozesse in der Therapie von Bewegungs- und Handlungsstörungen werden am und mit dem Körper vollzogen. Bisher fehlt eine zusammenhängende Theorie, die das gesamte Spektrum des körper- und leibbezogenen Lernens erfasst, beschreibt und erklärt. Fragestellung: Wie kann das körper- und leibbezogene Lernen definiert, beschrieben und erklärt werden? Methodisches Vorgehen: Sechs Therapieansätze aus den Bereichen der Ergotherapie und Physiotherapie werden analysiert anhand von Literatur, Gesprächen und Seminar- und Tagungsteilnahme. Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in den Lernprozessen der verschiedenen Therapieansätze werden anhand phänomenologischer, anthropologischer, soziologischer und kognitionswissenschaftlicher Theorien reflektiert, eine Theorie des körper- und leibbezogenen Lernens entworfen. Ergebnisse: In den Therapieansätzen werden unterschiedliche Strategien eingesetzt. Der Lernende nimmt entweder eine distanzierte und reflektierende Stellung zu seinem eigenen Körper ein oder lernt unmittelbar-erlebend mit dem Leib. „Leib“ steht für das unmittelbare Erleben, „Körper“ für das distanzierte Betrachten des Körpers. Lernen im Leibbezug geschieht durch Empfinden, Wahrnehmen und Erleben als Prägung, Inkorporierung und durch Nachahmung, als Versuch-Irrtum-Lernen, situatives Lernen und prozedurales Lernen. Lernprozesse im Körperbezug umfassen Verbalisieren, Reflektieren und Imaginieren beim motorischen und problemlösenden Lernen. Körper- und leibbezogenes Lernen geschieht im sinn- und bedeutungsvoll erlebten Handeln eingebettet in die Umwelt. Schlussfolgerungen: Lernen muss Körper und Leib einbeziehen, wenn es erfolgreich und nachhaltig sein soll. Die Theorie des körper- und leibbezogenen Lernens kann die Planung, Durchführung und Reflexion therapeutischer Praxis unterstützen. / Background: During therapy of movement and acting disorders, learning processes are executed both with and (all) over the body. To date, there is no coherent theory which covers all aspects of body-related learning. Question: How can body-related learning be defined, described and explained? Method: Six therapeutic approaches for occupational and physical therapy are analyzed based on literature, discussions and the participation in seminars and congresses. Differences in the learning processes of the various approaches are reflected on theories of phenomenology, anthropology, sociology and cognitive science and a theory of “Körper and Leib”-related learning conceptualized. Results: In the various therapeutic approaches, different strategies are used. The learner either adopts a distanced und reflecting attitude towards his body or he learns through immediate experience. “Körper” (the physical body) represents a distanced view of the body; “Leib” (the lived body) represents the immediate experience. But even the most distanced view does not take a person out of his/her “Leib”. “Leib”-related learning is based on imprinting through feeling, perception and experience, and on incorporation and imitation, trial-and-error learning, situative learning, and procedural learning. “Körper”related learning processes contain verbalization, reflection and imagination which are used with motor and problem-solving learning. “Körper and Leib”-related learning occurs through actions which are experienced as meaningful and relevant and are embedded into the environment. Conclusions: For successful and sustainable learning both “Körper” and “Leib” must be considered. The theory of “Körper and Leib”-related learning can support planning, implementation and reflection of the therapeutic practice.

Die dauerhafte Reduktion der von Menschen verursachten Emissionen ist eine der zentralen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit. Eine Strategie zur Reduzierung von Emissionen im Mobilitätssektor sind elektrisch betriebene Fahrzeuge, die je nach Typ teilweise oder vollständig mit Strom angetrieben werden. Für die Verkehrspsychologie stellt sich nun die Frage, ob und wie schnell sich Fahrer an die Nutzung von Elektrofahrzeugen gewöhnen und welche Herausforderungen sich aus Nutzersicht ergeben. Anhand von Studien mit vollelektrischen Fahrzeugen wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit zwei grundlegende Eigenschaften von Elektrofahrzeugen aus psychologischer Perspektive untersucht: Zum einen verfügen Elektrofahrzeuge über eine Rekuperationsfunktion, mit der es möglich ist, in Verzögerungsvorgängen kinetische in elektrische Energie umzuwandeln, also Energie rückzugewinnen und damit letztlich die Emissionen zu reduzieren. Zum anderen beschränkt sich die mögliche Emissionsreduktion von Elektrofahrzeugen nicht nur auf den CO2-Ausstoß, sondern betrifft auch die Geräuschentwicklung dieser Fahrzeuge. Fahrzeuge mit Elektroantrieb emittieren weniger Geräusche, was einerseits die Lärmbelastung durch Straßenverkehr reduzieren kann, zum anderen aber auch zu Bedenken z.B. blinder Verkehrsteilnehmer geführt hat. Gerade bei geringen Geschwindigkeiten sind Elektrofahrzeuge schlechter wahrnehmbar und dadurch eine potentielle Gefahr für andere Verkehrsteilnehmer. Das erste Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation bestand darin, die Auswirkungen einer über das Gaspedal gesteuerten Rekuperation aus verkehrspsychologischer Perspektive zu untersuchen. Die zur Nutzung der Rekuperation nötigen motorischen Fertigkeiten müssen erlernt und in unterschiedlichen Verkehrssituationen angewandt werden. Basierend auf dem Power Law of Practice (Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981) wurde der Fertigkeitserwerb bei der Nutzung der Rekuperationsfunktion eingehend betrachtet. Anhand von Fahrzeugdaten lassen sich eine sehr steile Lernkurve und damit ein kurzer Adaptationsprozess zeigen, der mit einer Powerfunktion beschrieben werden kann. Bereits innerhalb der ersten gefahrenen Kilometer nehmen die Anzahl der konventionellen Bremsmanöver und ihr zeitlicher Anteil an der gesamten Verzögerung rapide ab. Das zweite Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation war, die Auswirkungen der geringeren Geräuschemission auf das Verkehrsgeschehen zu prüfen. Dies erfolgte jedoch nicht, wie in anderen Studien bereits dargestellt, aus Fußgängerperspektive, sondern aus der Fahrerperspektive. Da die Fahrer gerade in der Anfangsphase eine zentrale Rolle bei der Entschärfung geräuschbedingter kritischer Situationen spielen, soll die Arbeit dazu beitragen, diese Forschungslücke zu schließen, um eine umfassendere Bewertung der Geräuschthematik bei Elektrofahrzeugen zu ermöglichen. In Anlehnung an Deerys (1999) Modell zu Fahrerreaktionen auf potentielle Gefahren, wurden Risikowahrnehmung (risk perception) und Gefahrenwahrnehmung (hazard perception) als entscheidende Determinanten der Fahrerreaktion auf geräuschbedingte Gefahrensituationen identifiziert. Was die Risikowahrnehmung betrifft, so konnte gezeigt werden, dass diese sich mit zunehmender Erfahrung verändert. Risiken aufgrund der Geräuscharmut werden als weniger bedrohlich, das leise Fahren zunehmend als Beitrag zum Komfort gewertet. Zusätzlich wurden im Rahmen der Dissertation Situationen im Straßenverkehr näher untersucht, die aufgrund der Geräuscharmut von Elektrofahrzeugen auftraten. Darauf aufbauend wurde ein Katalog von geräuschbedingten Szenarien erstellt, der als empirische Grundlage für die nähere Betrachtung der Gefahrenwahrnehmung von Fahrern diente. Ergebnisse daraus resultierender Experimente zur Detektion von geräuschbedingten Gefahren (hazard detection tasks) zeigten, dass die individuelle Erfahrung mit Elektrofahrzeugen offenbar lediglich eine untergeordnete Rolle bei der Erkennung und Reaktion auf geräuschbedingte Gefahren spielt. Erfahrene Fahrer von Elektrofahrzeugen unterschieden sich nur marginal von unerfahrenen Fahrern in der Reaktion in und der Bewertung von geräuschbedingten Gefahrensituationen, was darauf hindeutet, dass geräuschbedingte Gefahrensituationen auch von Fahrern ohne extensive Erfahrung mit Elektrofahrzeugen bewältigt werden können. Das dritte, übergreifende Ziel der Dissertation bestand darin, die Bedeutung beider Eigenschaften für die Nutzerakzeptanz zu untersuchen. Neben der Untersuchung momentan existierender Barrieren (z.B. Reichweite, Preis, Batterielebensdauer), die eine weitreichende Adoption von Elektrofahrzeugen erschweren können, ist es ebenso wichtig, solche Eigenschaften zu identifizieren, die sich positiv auf das Nutzererleben auswirken. Sowohl die Rekuperation, als auch die Geräuscharmut spielen eine wichtige Rolle in der Nutzerbewertung, da beide Eigenschaften als zentrale, individuell erlebbbare Vorteile von Elektrofahrzeugen beurteilt werden. Im Hinblick auf die Geräuschemission lässt sich konstatieren, dass diese mit zunehmender Erfahrung des Fahrers fast ausschließlich als Vorteil statt als Barriere von Elektrofahrzeugen gewertet wird. Eine bemerkbare, über das Gaspedal gesteuerte Rekuperation scheint als Teil des Fahrererlebens ebenfalls eine zentrale Rolle in der Bewertung zu spielen. Ein hohes Maß an Nutzerakzeptanz und Vertrauen in das System unterstreichen die positive Evaluation einer solchen Funktionalität. Aus verkehrspsychologischer Sicht haben die angeführten Eigenschaften von Elektrofahrzeugen Auswirkungen auf verschiedene Teilaufgaben der Fahrzeugführung. So sind nicht nur motorische Fertigkeiten in der Pedalnutzung (Stabilisierungsbene) erforderlich, sondern auch komplexere kognitive Prozesse, wie z.B. der Umgang mit möglichen Gefahrensituationen aufgrund der geringen Geräuschemission (Bahnführungsebene). Insgesamt weisen die Ergebnisse der Dissertation darauf hin, dass Herausforderungen aufgrund beider oben genannten Fahrzeugeigenschaften gemeistert werden können. Zusätzlich zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass beide Eigenschaften von den Nutzern als willkommene Aspekte der technologischen Innovation geschätzt werden und somit zur allgemeinen Akzeptanz von Elektrofahrzeugen beitragen können. Da auch andere Fahrzeugkonzepte mit elektrischem Antriebsstrang diese beiden Eigenschaften aufweisen, lassen sich die gefundenen Ergebnisse auf andere Fahrzeugtypen übertragen.