TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF SIGNALS AND VIGILANCE PERFORMANCE.
Abstract
The role of temporal expectancy in vigilance performance was studied by comparing the performances of subjects who were presented with different temporal patterns of signals. Also studied was the effectiveness of displaying a subject's record of responses over time for the purpose of allowing him to anticipate signal occurrences. Finally the relationship between the subjects' performance and rates of subjective time was studied to confirm an earlier finding. To accomplish this, different groups of subjects were given simple, complex and random patterns of signals in daily vigilance tasks for five days. Half of each group used a graphic recorder showing a record of their responses over time and half did not. Their rates of subjective time were measured each day. On the last day all subjects were given their normal pattern during the initial period of the vigilance task but were then switched to the random pattern for the remainder of the task. Findings were: (1) the subjects did not respond to the temporal arrangement of signals but may have responded to the mean and variance of intersignal intervals in the patterns, (2) the graphic recorder interfered with, rather than improved, performance, (3) the abrupt change in pattern on the fifth day had a strong deleterious effect upon the performance of those who had learned the initial pattern, and (4) the subjects' performance was related to their rates of subjective time in the expected manner. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0651047
Entities
People
- James F. O'hanlon Jr.
- James J. Mcgrath