The Influence of Optimistic and Pessimistic Bias on Stress Levels in Completing a Task Using Galvanic Skin Response

Bias is a condition where all interpretations of the information at hand deviate from the existing truth, leading to incorrect conclusions. Bias is often associated with stress levels. Traffic congestion and road conditions can trigger stress and have adverse effects on drivers. This study aims to prove whether there is an influence between a person's stress level while driving and optimistic and pessimistic biases. Research measures physical stress level with help of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and a Driving Simulator. Respondents are assigned to drive using a driving simulator with two types of traffic treatments. By using classical assumption tests and multiple linear regression, the relationship between the existing variables' influence will be determined. The results of the study indicate that there is no correlation between the two variables, namely completion time and driving performance, on the perceived stress level of the respondents, with R-Square values of 0.08% for treatment one and 0.25%for treatment two.