Selective Attention Abilities of Experienced Sonar Operators
Abstract
Sonarmen listen to and interpret complex auditory and visual signals for thousands of hours over a period of years. It is unknown whether experienced sonarmen develop expertise in the area of visual selective attention and perception that can be measured with the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWIT). To determine whether experienced sonarmen obtain expertise in the area of visual selective attention and perception. This study compared experienced and inexperienced sonar operators on performance of the SCWIT to determine whether experienced sonarmen obtain expertise in the area of visual selective attention and perception that may generalize to other tasks. A first experiment found group differences in one of two sessions favoring experienced operators. A second experiment of four sessions, with samples similar in state anxiety and memory scores, found no significant difference between experienced and inexperienced operators in SCWIT speed or accuracy. The findings suggest that any expertise experienced sonar operators develop is likely to be content and context specific and that the SCWIT is not sensitive to this specific expertise.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA267751
Entities
People
- Daniel E. Braun
- David A. Kobus
- Lawrence J. Lewandowski
- Lex L. Merrill
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center