The effect of increased monitoring load on vigilance performance using a simulated radar display.

The present study examined the extent to which level of target density influences the ability to sustain attention to a complex monitoring task requiring only a detection response to simple stimulus change. The visual display was designed to approximate a futuristic, highly automated air traffic control radar display containing computer-generated alphanumeric symbols. Forty-eight male subjects, equally divided into three groups, were exposed to density levels of 4, 8, or 16 targets. Ten critical stimuli (signals) were randomly presented during each half-hour of the 2 h session. Detection latency to the critical stimuli in the 16-target condition was significantly greater than latency to the 4- and 8-target conditions. There was no evidence of performance decrement in the two lower density conditions. The 16-target condition showed a significant progressive increase in mean detection latency, which was primarily the result of an increase in long latencies. The hypothesized decline in attention associated w...

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