Central and Peripheral Cues to Difficulty in a Dynamic Task

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Vangsness ◽  
Michael Young
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Peripheral Cues ◽  
Skill Performance ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Central Cues

Objective: We used this experiment to determine the degree to which cues to difficulty are used to make judgments of difficulty (JODs). Background: Traditional approaches involve seeking to standardize the information people used to evaluate subjective workload; however, it is likely that conscious and unconscious cues underlie peoples’ JODs. Method: We designed a video game task that tested the degree to which time-on-task, performance-based feedback, and central cues to difficulty informed JODs. These relationships were modeled along five continuous dimensions of difficulty. Results: Central cues most strongly contributed to JODs; judgments were supplemented by peripheral cues (performance-based feedback and time-on-task) even though these cues were not always valid. In addition, participants became more likely to rate the task as “easier” over time. Conclusion: Although central cues are strong predictors of task difficulty, people confuse task difficulty (central cues), effort allocation and skill (performance-based feedback), and proxy cues to difficulty (time) when making JODs. Application: Identifying the functional relationships between cues to difficulty and JODs will provide valuable insight regarding the information that people use to evaluate tasks and to make decisions.

Central and Peripheral Cues to Difficulty in a Dynamic Task

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1133-1134
Author(s):  
Lisa Vangsness ◽  
Michael E. Young
Keyword(s):  
Task Characteristics ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Physical Effort ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Subjective Workload ◽  
Peripheral Cues ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Random Location ◽  
Safety Procedures

Background Subjective workload assessments (e.g., NASA-TLX, SWAT, WP) rely upon judgments of difficulty (JODs) and workload to determine how challenging it is for an operator to complete a task. While it is likely that subjective workload assessments are an aggregate product of many cues to difficulty, including internal feelings of effort, that become available during task completion (Cordes, 1993; Kahneman, 2000), moment-to-moment judgments may evolve as additional external cues become available. That is, JODs are likely based to some degree upon internal (privileged) cues and integral task characteristics (central cues), but are also influenced by peripheral cues that serve as a proxy for task difficulty. These dynamic and multifaceted cues affect the choice to initiate tasks (e.g., Mitchell, 2017), comply with safety procedures (e.g., Sigurdsson, Taylor, & Wirth, 2013), and allocate resources (e.g, Kurzban, Duckworth, Kable, & Meyers, 2013), among other things. Identifying common cues that inform JODs contributes to workload theory and defines avenues for workload intervention. Method We developed a 40-minute videogame task that could be used as a laboratory to test people’s sensitivity to two peripheral cues that are present during many tasks: performance-based feedback and time-on-task. These cues became available as participants completed videogame sessions that were identical in instructions and objective, but differed in the source of their difficulty. Specifically, participants were assigned to one of five conditions in which enemy behavior changed along a continuum with respect to: how quickly enemies moved, how much damage enemies dealt to players, how many shots it took to eliminate an enemy character, how quickly enemies appeared in the level, and how close players could be to enemy characters before being chased. These random changes in task speed, feedback, physical effort, timing, and coordination occurred at the beginning of every level (i.e., block of trials). Participants’ JODs were collected at the beginning of each level and every subsequent three minutes by asking them to indicate whether the task was easier or harder than before. Performance-based feedback Participants began each level with 100 hit points of health and received visual and auditory feedback when they came in contact with an enemy character. Crucially, enemy attacks caused participants to lose hit points; when health dropped below 0, the character died and participants had to wait 30 s before resuming the game from a random location within the game space. Self-reported JODs Participants’ JODs were collected at the beginning of each level and every subsequent three minutes by asking them to indicate whether the task was easier or harder than before (Böckenholt, 2004). The task was paused 3s before and after the pop-up window appeared to reduce the performance costs associated with task interruption (Altmann & Trafton, 2007).

Understanding online health community users' information adoption intention: an elaboration likelihood model perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhou
Keyword(s):  
User Behavior ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Elaboration Likelihood Model ◽  
Elaboration Likelihood ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Peripheral Cues ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
Adoption Intention ◽  
Information Adoption ◽  
Central Cues

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to draw on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to examine users' information adoption intention in online health communities (OHC).Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 350 valid responses using a survey and conducted the moderated regression analysis to examine the research model.FindingsThe results indicated that users' information adoption intention is influenced by both central cues (argument quality) and peripheral cues (source credibility and emotional support). In addition, self-efficacy moderates the effect of both central cues and peripheral cues on information adoption intention.Originality/valuePrevious research has focused on the effect of individual motivations such as reciprocity and benefits on user behavior, and has seldom disclosed the influencing process of external factors on OHC users' behavioral decision. This research tries to fill the gap by adopting ELM to uncover the mechanism underlying OHC users' information adoption.

scholarly journals The time on task effect in reading and problem solving is moderated by task difficulty and skill: Insights from a computer-based large-scale assessment.

2014 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 608-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Goldhammer ◽  
Johannes Naumann ◽  
Annette Stelter ◽  
Krisztina Tóth ◽  
Heiko Rölke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Large Scale Assessment ◽  
Scale Assessment ◽  
Task Effect ◽  
Computer Based

Contextual Dependencies during Perceptual-motor Skill Performance: Influence of Task Difficulty

Memory ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted Anderson ◽  
David L. Wright ◽  
Maarten A. Immink
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skill ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Skill Performance

scholarly journals Effects of task difficulty and time-on-task on mental workload

2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeru Haga ◽  
Haruo Shinoda ◽  
Mitsuteru Kokubun
Keyword(s):  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Time On Task

scholarly journals How prior experience, cognitive skills and practice are related with eye-hand span and performance in video gaming

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Nivala ◽  
Agnes Cichy ◽  
Hans Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Practice Effect ◽  
Video Gaming ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
And Performance

Research has shown that performance in visual domains depends on domain-specific cognitive and perceptual adaptations that result from extensive practice. However, less is known about processes and factors that underpin the acquisition of such adaptations. The present study investigated how prior experience, cognitive skills, task difficulty and practice effect eye-hand span (EHS) and performance in video gaming. Thirty-three participants played a platformer video game in a pre-test/practice/post-test experiment. Eye movements and keypresses were recorded. The results show that a short practice period improved performance but did not increase EHS. Instead, EHS was related to task difficulty. Furthermore, while EHS correlated with initial performance, this effect seemed to diminish after practice. Cognitive skills (concentration endurance, working memory, mental flexibility and executive functioning) predicted performance in some parts of the experiment. The study offers insights into the early development of visual adaptations and performance.

scholarly journals The Roles Of Cognitive Load and Appraisal Of Task Difficulty In Predicting Subjective Fatigue And Subsequent Task Disengagement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole E. Carmona
Keyword(s):  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Central Fatigue ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Subsequent Effect ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Subsequent Task

Central fatigue refers to an inability to sustain mental or physical performance in self-initiated tasks and an increased perception of effort (Chaudhuri & Behan, 2000), suggesting that fatigue results from a mismatch between the perceived resources needed to initiate a task and the availability of cognitive resources available to complete it. Consequently, fatigue may be considered a “stop-emotion” to preserve cognitive resources, resulting in task disengagement (Meijman, 2000). This study investigated: 1) the role of perceived cognitive resources in the development of mental fatigue by manipulating the task demands and appraisals of task difficulty, and 2) the subsequent effect of fatigue on task engagement. Fatigue increased and cognitive resources decreased with time on task, rather than as a result of the task demands × instruction of task difficulty interaction. Increases in fatigue did not predict measures of engagement in almost all cases. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Effective Human to Human Communication of Information Provided by an Unmanned Vehicle

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L. McDermott ◽  
Jason Luck ◽  
Laurel Allender ◽  
Alia Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Unmanned Vehicles ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Radio Communication ◽  
Military Teams ◽  
Analysis Of Performance ◽  
Better Than

Much of the research on unmanned-vehicles (UVs) focuses on technology or interface design. This study however, investigated how to best support effective communication between the operator monitoring a UV and the Soldier in the field using that information to complete a mission. Several questions arise: Does the operator need to be co-located with Soldiers in the field or can he or she be in a more secure rearward location? Does the team need the capability to transmit visual images or is radio communication adequate? Is information from one type of UV better than others? Do real time mapping and tracking technologies increase situation awareness (SA)? To begin to answer these questions, military teams conducted rescue missions using the video game Raven Shield as a simulated battlefield. The analysis of performance data, self reports, and observations provide some valuable insight to these questions.

scholarly journals Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: a behavioral study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Szücs ◽  
Katalin Szanto ◽  
Jade Adalbert ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright ◽  
Luke Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
Status Rivalry

Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of trait dominance, dimensionally-assessed narcissism, and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years). Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task and were particularly enhanced in individuals high in trait dominance or narcissism. Participants engaged in more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents, a tendency accentuated by trait dominance and partially mitigated by depression. Our findings provide behavioral evidence that social dominance and narcissism manifest in increased rivalry and admiration-seeking during social contests. Depression does not suppress general competitiveness but selectively inhibits upward-focused rivalry.

scholarly journals Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243588
Author(s):  
Anna Szücs ◽  
Katalin Szanto ◽  
Jade Adalbert ◽  
Aidan G. C. Wright ◽  
Luke Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
Status Rivalry

Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of dimensionally-assessed narcissism and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years). Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task and were particularly enhanced in individuals high in narcissism. Participants engaged in more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents, but depression partially mitigated this tendency. Our findings provide behavioral evidence that narcissism manifests in increased rivalry and admiration-seeking during social contests. Depression does not suppress general competitiveness but selectively inhibits upward-focused rivalry.

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