Search asymmetry was used to test two theories of sustained attention lapses currently debated in the literature: the boredom-mindlessness theory and the resource depletion-mental fatigue theory. Participants performed feature present and a feature absent target detection tasks using either a sustained attention to response task (high Go low No-Go) or a traditionally formatted task (high No-Go low Go) response format. In addition to performance, functional near infrared spectroscopy was employed to measure lateral cerebral oxygenation levels and self-reports of tense arousal, energetic arousal, task related and unrelated thoughts occurring during the tasks were utilised. Detections were lower and reaction times longer in the feature absent search than the feature present search regardless of response format. Detections were lower, but reaction times shorter in the sustained attention to response task than the traditionally formatted task regardless of feature search. Greater right than left frontal hemisphere activation occurred in the sustained attention to response task than the traditionally formatted task. In addition, the sustained attention to response task was more fatiguing based on self-reports than the traditionally formatted task, but there were no differences in Task-Unrelated Thoughts across task conditions. Overall, the results of this study support a resource theory explanation of sustained attention lapses, not a mindlessness-boredom theory explanation. Moreover, the results suggest the sustained attention to response task places high response inhibition, not sustained attention, demands on participants.

This was a replication of a study performed by Szalma and Hancock (2006). The goal of the research was to determine whether a participant's choice (or perceived choice) of an "easy" or "hard" task had a significant effect on their performances on vigilance tasks. There were 2 groups of participants; each group chose their task difficulty and the first group received their choice, while the second group received the opposite condition of that which they requested. Research on factors which affect vigilance has practical implications for areas such as military surveillance and quality control, which require employees to observe monitors for extended periods of time for rare instances of critical signals.

Examining the role of individual differences, especially variations in human motivation, in vigilance tasks will result in a better understanding of sustained semantic attention and processing, which has, to date, received limited study in the literature (see Fraulini, Hancock, Neigel, Claypoole, & Szalma, 2017; Epling, Russell, & Helton, 2016; Thomson et al., 2016). This present study seeks to understand how individual differences in intrinsic motivation affect performance in a short semantic vigilance task. Performance across two conditions (lure vs. standard condition) were compared in the present study of 79 undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida. The results indicated significant main effects of intrinsic motivation on pre- and post-task stress factors, workload, and performance measures, which included correct detections, false alarms, and response time. Sensitivity and response bias, which are indices of signal detection theory, were also examined in the present study. Intrinsic motivation influenced sensitivity, but not response bias, which was affected by period on watch. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are also discussed.

L’objectif de ces travaux de thèse était d’avancer dans la connaissance des effets du vieillissement normal sur les capacités d’attention soutenue et les mécanismes de contrôle attentionnel qui les sous-tendent. A cette fin, nous avons combiné l’utilisation de mesures comportementales, subjectives, et électrophysiologiques (potentiels évoqués). Les résultats comportementaux mettent en évidence des effets différenciés de l’âge sur les capacités d’attention soutenue en fonction de l’approche utilisée : détérioration dans les tâches de détection, et préservation dans les tâches d’inhibition. Les données électrophysiologiques mettent en évidence plusieurs spécificités des seniors dans l’engagement des mécanismes de contrôle attentionnel en situation d’attention soutenue : une activation globalement plus importante de ces mécanismes, une activation maintenue ou augmentée de ces mécanismes au fil de la tâche, et une topographie plus frontale des régions qui les sous-tendent. / The purpose of this project was to gain more knowledge about the effects of normal aging on sustained attention ability and attentional control mechanisms underlying this ability. To that end, we combined the use of behavioral, subjective and electrophysiological (event-related potentials) measures. Behavioral results evidenced differential effects of age on sustained attention ability according to the approach used: deterioration in detection tasks, and preservation in inhibition tasks. Electrophysiological data evidenced several special features of seniors regarding the recruitment of attentional control mechanisms in a situation of sustained attention: overall greater activation of these mechanisms, stable or increased activation of these mechanisms over the course of the task, and a more frontal topography of the regions underlying these mechanisms.

No description available.