Experiments On Vigilance Performance On A Simple Vigilance Task In Noise And In Quiet

"Twenty male undergraduate volunteers worked on a simple vigilance task without interruption for 1 3/4 hours in noise (112.5 db SPL) and 1 3/4 hours in quiet (79 db SPL). The performance function was the typical one found in such tasks; performance dropped off rapidly after an initial high level. There was no differentiation, however, between performance in the noise session and in the quiet session. This result, which differs from previous results at this and at other laboratories on effects of noise on “vigilance", is explained on the basis of the absence of a need for flexibility of attention for performance on the simple “vigilance” task used here and the presence of such a need for performance on “vigilance” tasks in which an effect of noise was found."--Abstract.

The investigation of a potential autonomic physiological concomitant of overt behavior (i.e., galvanic skin response as a correlate of signal detection) in a Mackworth-type vigilance task is described. Previous activity in this general area is discussed, and several new approaches are indicated.

Vigilance: The Problem of Sustained Attention deals with vigilance and how the ability to sustain attention is influenced by certain definite conditions of the external and internal environment. Topics covered range from factors affecting vigilance performance to the physiological correlates of vigilance, theories of vigilance performance, and the relationship between arousal and vigilance performance. This volume is comprised of six chapters and begins with an overview of research on vigilance behavior, followed by a discussion on some of the factors affecting vigilance performance, including signal frequency and personality. Subsequent chapters explore physiological correlates of vigilance such as galvanic skin resistance and cortical evoked potentials; reinforcement theory, expectancy theory, and other theories of vigilance performance; and arousal theory and the phenomenon of time error. The final chapter considers some of the conditions that improve vigilance performance, along with the correlation between vigilance and arousal. This book will be of interest to psychologists.