Grace Teo

Vigilance on the move: video game-based measurement of sustained attention

Vigilance represents the capacity to sustain attention to any environmental source of information over prolonged periods on watch. Most stimuli used in vigilance research over the previous six decades have been relatively simple and often purport to represent important aspects of detection and discrimination tasks in real-world settings. Such displays are most frequently composed of single stimulus presentations in discrete trials against a uniform, often uncluttered background. The present experiment establishes a dynamic, first-person perspective vigilance task in motion using a video-game environment. ‘Vigilance on the move’ is thus a new paradigm for the study of sustained attention. We conclude that the stress of vigilance extends to the new paradigm, but whether the performance decrement emerges depends upon specific task parameters. The development of the task, the issues to be resolved and the pattern of performance, perceived workload and stress associated with performing such dynamic vigilance are reported. Practitioner Summary: The present experiment establishes a dynamic, first-person perspective movement-based vigilance task using a video-game environment. ‘Vigilance on the move’ is thus a new paradigm for the evaluation of sustained attention in operational environments in which individuals move as they monitor their environment. Issues addressed in task development are described.

Spatial and temporal task characteristics as stress: A test of the dynamic adaptability theory of stress, workload, and performance

The goal for this study was to test assertions of the dynamic adaptability theory of stress, which proposes two fundamental task dimensions, information rate (temporal properties of a task) and information structure (spatial properties of a task). The theory predicts adaptive stability across stress magnitudes, with progressive and precipitous changes in adaptive response manifesting first as increases in perceived workload and stress and then as performance failure. Information structure was manipulated by varying the number of displays to be monitored (1, 2, 4 or 8 displays). Information rate was manipulated by varying stimulus presentation rate (8, 12, 16, or 20 events/min). A signal detection task was used in which critical signals were pairs of digits that differed by 0 or 1. Performance accuracy declined and workload and stress increased as a function of increased task demand, with a precipitous decline in accuracy at the highest demand levels. However, the form of performance change as well as the pattern of relationships between speed and accuracy and between performance and workload/stress indicates that some aspects of the theory need revision. Implications of the results for the theory and for future research are discussed.

The Effect of Video Game Play on Performance in a Vigilance Task

Traditional vigilance research typically employs static stimuli presented in discrete trials within a highly structured laboratory setting with few similarities to operational environments. The current study employs a dynamic video game-based environment in which the vigilance task has crucial elements of real world detection tasks, in this case the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The novel platform for this vigilance task and its similarity to popular video games on the market motivated the current study to compare performance between video game players (VGPs), to non-video game players (NVGPs). The results indicate that, relative to NVGPs, VGPs achieved improved performance on the vigilance task, regardless of whether they received training using knowledge of results (KR).

THE JOINT EFFECT OF TASK CHARACTERISTICS AND EXTRAVERSION ON THE PERFORMANCE, WORKLOAD, AND STRESS OF SIGNAL DETECTION

The present study tests an extension of the Dynamic Adaptability Theory of Stress (Hancock & Warm, 1989) that incorporated individual differences into the model (Szalma, 2008). The purpose was to investigate how the task characteristics of information rate (event rate) and information structure (number of displays to be monitored) interact with participant personality (extraversion) to affect the performance, workload, and stress associated with a cognitive vigilance task. As expected, extraversion moderated the relationship of task characteristics to performance, global workload, distress, and task engagement, although the relationship of extraversion to the worry dimensions of stress was not significant.

The Effect of Knowledge of Results for Training Vigilance in a Video Game-Based Environment

One of the greatest challenges facing military personnel deployed to combat zones is the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In spite of advances in IED detection technology, one of the best defenses against IEDs is the vigilant Soldier. The present study compares the vigilance performance of those who were provided knowledge of results (KR) during vigilance training, to those who did not have knowledge of results, using a video game-based vigilance task. KR was effective in improving vigilance, both during training and during a subsequent test phase in which no feedback was provided. These results indicate that video game-based methods may be useful for training sustained attention.

Robot Behavior for Enhanced Human Performance and Workload

Advancements in technology in the field of robotics have made it necessary to determine integration and use for these in civilian tasks and military missions. Currently, literature is limited on robot employment in tasks and missions, and few taxonomies exist that guide understanding of robot functionality.As robots acquire more capabilities and functions, they will likely be working more closely with humans in human-robot teams. In order to better utilize and design robots that enhance performance in such teams, a better understanding of what robots can do and the impact of these behaviors on the human operator/teammate is needed.

Evaluating Vigilance in a Dynamic Environment: Methodological Issues and Proposals

Decades of vigilance research have contributed much to our understanding of the factors affecting sustained attention. However most of what we know about vigilance has been from studies employing tasks that involve relatively static stimuli presented on relatively uncluttered backgrounds. This bears little resemblance to many modern day vigilance tasks. The present study discusses the challenges and issues in applying the vigilance paradigm and methodology to a dynamic task requiring vigilance in an IED detection task.

Resilient autonomous systems: Challenges and solutions

Advances in the technology of autonomous systems calls for an examination of the factors that confer resilience on the human-machine system. We identify challenges for teaming between human operators and autonomous systems associated with cognitive demands, trust and operator self-regulation. Solutions to these challenges partly require designing systems for effective signaling of capabilities and “intent” to the human operator. They also require selection and training of operators to team with systems that may simulate intelligent, social behaviors, as well as diagnostic monitoring of operator neurocognitive status. Implementing such solutions supports resilience at a systems level, so that machine and human can compensate for each others limitations in challenging circumstances.

The Effects of Task Type and Source Complexity on Vigilance Performance, Workload, and Stress

The present study investigated the effects of task type (cognitive vs. sensory) and source complexity (number of displays to be monitored) of the performance, workload, and stress associated with vigilance. Results affirmed the utility of the cognitive-sensory task distinction of the vigilance taxonomy, although in contrast to previous research the cognitive task was associated with lower performance and higher levels of perceived workload and stress. The results also indicated that both task type and source complexity exhibited the typical performance-workload associations previously reported in research on sustained attention.

Training for vigilance on the move: a video game-based paradigm for sustained attention

Abstract The capacity for superior vigilance can be trained by using knowledge of results (KR). Our present experiments demonstrate the efficacy of such training using a first-person perspective movement videogame-based platform in samples of students and Soldiers. Effectiveness was assessed by manipulating KR during a training phase and withdrawing it in a subsequent transfer phase. Relative to a no KR control condition, KR systematically improved performance for both Soldiers and students. These results build upon our previous findings that demonstrated that a video game-based platform can be used to create a movement-centred sustained attention task with important elements of traditional vigilance. The results indicate that KR effects in sustained attention extend to a first person perspective movement based paradigm, and that these effects occur in professional military as well as a more general population. Such sustained attention training can save lives and the present findings demonstrate one particular avenue to achieve this goal. Practitioner Summary: Sustained attention can be trained by means of knowledge of results using a videogame-based platform with samples of students and Soldiers. Four experiments demonstrate that a dynamic, first-person perspective video game environment can serve to support effective sustained attention training in professional military as well as a more general population.