Date of Award
5-2010
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Human Factors Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Tyrrell, Richard
Committee Member
Gugerty , Leo
Committee Member
Pagano , Christopher
Committee Member
Switzer , Fred
Abstract
Designing headlights involves balancing two conflicting goals: maximizing visibility for the driver and minimizing the disabling effects of glare for other drivers. Complaints of headlight glare have increased recently. This project explored the relationship between subjective (discomfort and expected visual problems) and objective (actual visual problems) consequences of glare. Two experiments - a lab-based psychophysical study and a field study - quantified the accuracy of observers' estimates of the effects of glare on their acuity. In both experiments, participants over-estimated the extent to which glare degraded their ability to see a small high contrast target. Observers' estimates of the disabling effects of glare were more tightly linked with subjective reports of glare-induced visual discomfort than with objective measures of glare-induced visual problems.
Recommended Citation
Balk, Stacy, "THE ACCURACY OF OBSERVERS' ESTIMATES OF THE EFFECT OF GLARE ON NIGHTTIME VISION: DO WE EXAGGERATE THE DISABLING EFFECTS OF GLARE?" (2010). All Dissertations. 560.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/560