Users' performance with a riding trainer: The role of the social setting

The present work considers the training in risk perception carried out with a motorcycle simulator, the Honda Rider Trainer (henceforth HRT), and investigates the effect of the social setting on the trainees’ performance. Through preliminary pilot studies a general procedure and three different social settings are defined: (a) a standard one (one trainee, one instructor); (b) standard with an audience of two schoolmates; and (c) two trainees and one instructor. The results show that in a school environment and with a careful procedure, the users’actions are aligned with the training purpose, and no gender difference emerges in the performance; also, the addition of a small audience, or a parallel training does not modify the trainees’ ability to cope with risks.