Vigilance, Workload, and Boredom: Two Competing Models

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (17) ◽  
pp. 1531-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline R. Alikonis ◽  
Joel S. Warm ◽  
Gerald Matthews ◽  
William N. Dember ◽  
Edward M. Hitchcock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Direct Cost ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
High Workload ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Musical Selection ◽  
High Information

Two models that seek to explain the high workload associated with vigilance tasks are the direct-cost and indirect-cost views. The former attributes the elevated workload to the high information-processing demand of the task; the latter attributes it to efforts to combat the boredom associated with monotonous vigilance tasks. A recent study by Hitchcock et al. (1999) provided support for the direct-cost view by showing that it is possible to lower the workload of vigilance through reductions in the information-processing load while leaving task-induced boredom unaffected. This study provides converging evidence for the direct-cost view: allowing observers to listen to a stress-reducing musical selection, Heart Zones, during a vigil lowered boredom while leaving the perceived workload of the task unaffected. The beneficial effect of the musical selection was limited to boredom; it had no impact upon post-vigil feelings of loss of task engagement and distress.

Effects of a high information-processing load on the writing process and the story written

1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna L. Penningroth ◽  
Sheldon Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
High Load ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Thinking Aloud ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Written Information ◽  
High Information

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to test how information-processing load affects the writing process (through thinking-aloud reports) and the story written. Information-processing load was increased by having subjects write to an ending sentence with more content constraints. Secondary reaction times were synchronized with thinking-aloud statements to yield a measure of cognitive effort for the components of the writing process and for the overall task. A high information-processing load led to lower rated story coherence, but not to lower rated quality. A high load did not increase overall cognitive effort, but changed the distribution of processing time, with more reviewing earlier. Results suggest that a high information-processing load altered the distribution of writing processes, which resulted in lower story coherence.

Time Estimation Methods—Do They Influence Prospective Duration Estimates?

Perception ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Zakay
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Clock Time ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Attentional Model ◽  
Time Length

The validity of an attentional model of prospective time estimation was tested in three experiments. In the first experiment two variables were manipulated: (1) nontemporal information processing load during the estimated interval, and (2) time estimation method, ie production of time simultaneously with the performance of a second task, or reproduction of time immediately upon termination of a task whose duration has to be measured. As predicted, a positive relationship between produced time length and information processing load demanded by a simultaneous task, and a negative relationship between reproduced time length and information processing load during the estimated interval, were found. The results were replicated in a second experiment in which verbal estimates of time were also measured and the objective duration of the estimated interval was varied. The pattern of results obtained for verbal estimates was similar to that obtained for reproduced ones. The results of a third experiment indicated that produced and reproduced times were positively correlated with clock time. The results are interpreted as supporting an attentional model of prospective time estimation.

scholarly journals Eye-Tracking Metrics Predict Perceived Workload in Robotic Surgical Skills Training

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 1365-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuhao Wu ◽  
Jackie Cha ◽  
Jay Sulek ◽  
Tian Zhou ◽  
Chandru P. Sundaram ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Robotic Surgery ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Stereoscopic Vision ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Surgical Trainees ◽  
High Workload ◽  
Robotic Skills ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Robotic Surgical Training

Objective The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between eye-tracking measures and perceived workload in robotic surgical tasks. Background Robotic techniques provide improved dexterity, stereoscopic vision, and ergonomic control system over laparoscopic surgery, but the complexity of the interfaces and operations may pose new challenges to surgeons and compromise patient safety. Limited studies have objectively quantified workload and its impact on performance in robotic surgery. Although not yet implemented in robotic surgery, minimally intrusive and continuous eye-tracking metrics have been shown to be sensitive to changes in workload in other domains. Methods Eight surgical trainees participated in 15 robotic skills simulation sessions. In each session, participants performed up to 12 simulated exercises. Correlation and mixed-effects analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between eye-tracking metrics and perceived workload. Machine learning classifiers were used to determine the sensitivity of differentiating between low and high workload with eye-tracking features. Results Gaze entropy increased as perceived workload increased, with a correlation of .51. Pupil diameter and gaze entropy distinguished differences in workload between task difficulty levels, and both metrics increased as task level difficulty increased. The classification model using eye-tracking features achieved an accuracy of 84.7% in predicting workload levels. Conclusion Eye-tracking measures can detect perceived workload during robotic tasks. They can potentially be used to identify task contributors to high workload and provide measures for robotic surgery training. Application Workload assessment can be used for real-time monitoring of workload in robotic surgical training and provide assessments for performance and learning.

Influences of Task Management Strategy on Performance and Workload for Supervisory Control

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 856-860
Author(s):  
James R. Bowden ◽  
Christina F. Rusnock
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Supervisory Control ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
Task Management ◽  
High Workload ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Low Performance

Individual differences between task management strategies in a dual task environment – as a possible contributing factor to failures in supervisory control – have not been heavily researched. The purpose of this study was to identify strategies utilized by human subjects operating in a dual task environment to determine the effect of task management strategy on performance and workload outcomes. Participants monitored 8 remote processes while simultaneously executing a cognitively demanding secondary task. Researcher observation and participant feedback were used to identify specifically how tasks were managed. Four competing strategies were identified: Balanced Interleaving, Balanced Multitasking, Adaptive Attack, and Adaptive Avoidance. Findings revealed that the Adaptive Attack and Balanced Multitasking strategies demonstrated more advantageous outcomes toward performance while also resulting in lower participant perceived workload; Balanced Interleaving showed marginally higher performance, but high workload; and Adaptive Avoidance resulted in both low workload and low performance.

Selective pattern of cognitive functioning in autism: A function of information processing load

1994 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.J. Minshew ◽  
G. Goldstein ◽  
D.J. Siegel ◽  
M. Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Selective Pattern

The ‘Distraction Effect’ and Information Processing Complexity

Perception ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Distraction Effect ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Serial Task ◽  
Response Task ◽  
Additional Explanation

It was found earlier that a transient ‘distraction effect’ was apparent when 80 dB noise bursts occurred at random during an on-going serial-response task. Experiments are now reported in which the information processing ‘load’ of the on-going serial task was varied (a) by the introduction of increased stimulus predictability, or (b) by the introduction of stimulus–response incompatibility. On the notion that the information processing system acts as a single channel, with increased stimulus predictability there should be a reduced distraction effect, because there would be more capacity available for responding to noise bursts whilst maintaining serial task performance; the reverse should be true for the case of increased stimulus–response incompatibility. Results suggested that the ‘distraction effect’ was reduced in both cases. An additional explanation suggesting that the information processing load of the task itself determined whether or not the noise bursts were providing effective rivalry with the task signals is considered.

Effects of information processing load in abstinent and nonabstinent smokers' psychomotor task performance

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Marzilli ◽  
Kristin Florence Willhoit ◽  
Mark Guadagnoli
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Processing Load

Effect of Short Lateralized Signals on Arousal versus Activation on Tasks Requiring Visuospatial or Elementary Semantic Stimulus Processing, a Replication with a Modified Experimental Design

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert De Brabander ◽  
Christophe Boone
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Present Experiment ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Experimental Treatment ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Delayed Reaction ◽  
Basic Hypothesis ◽  
The Brain

In this experiment, which is basically a replication of an earlier experiment done in 1988, we tested the hypothesis that the brain self-regulates its own arousal and activation. When subjects perform a putative right-hemisphere task (visuospatial), the effect of a supplementary information-processing load is supposed to lead to a delayed reaction. The opposite is supposed to be true in a putative left-hemisphere task (semantic). The former effect is supposed to be the result of increased arousal, the latter is that of increased activation. In the present experiment the reactions subject to experimental treatment are compared with control reactions of the same subject. This was not the case in the earlier experiment. Still other improvements of the experimental design were made. The results clearly confirm the earlier findings. Additional evidence is offered to strengthen the plausibility of the basic hypothesis.

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