Biomedical subjects

Peter A Hancock

Publications and source records attributed to Peter A Hancock.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Training for vigilance: the effect of knowledge of results format and dispositional optimism and pessimism on performance and stress.

This study investigated the impact of knowledge of results (KR) format on the performance and stress associated with a vigilance task. Also examined was the effect of the interaction of KR-format (Hit-KR, False Alarm-KR, Miss-KR, and a composite of all three formats) with dispositional optimism and pessimism on performance outcome and reported stress state. Hypotheses based upon a theory of feedback intervention were tested. KR regarding correct detections and the composite-KR (KR regarding correct detections, false alarms, and missed signals) enhanced perceptual sensitivity. However, False Alarm-KR and Miss-KR did not. Contrary to expectations based on the theory, performance was unrelated to the traits across all KR conditions. However, the effects of KR-format on self-reports of stress depended on the individual's level of pessimism and optimism. In addition, KR format and personality affected the multiple dimensions of stress state in different ways.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Signal regularity and the mindlessness model of vigilance.

Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, and Yiend (1997) have proposed that detection failures in vigilance tasks result from a 'mindless' withdrawal of attentional effort from the monitoring assignment. To explore that view, they modified the traditional vigilance task, in which observers make button-press responses to signify the detection of rarely occurring critical signals, to one in which button-press responses acknowledge frequently occurring non-signal events and response withholding signifies signal detection. This modification is designed to promote a mindless withdrawal of attentional effort from the task through routinization. The present study challenges the validity of the mindlessness model by showing that with both types of task, observers utilize subtle patterns in the temporal structure of critical signal appearances to develop expectations about the time course of those appearances that affect performance efficiency. Such expectations enhance performance on the traditional vigilance task, but degrade performance on the modified task.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Driving performance during concurrent cell-phone use: are drivers aware of their performance decrements?

Prior research has documented the manner in which a variety of driving performance measures are impacted by concurrent cell-phone use as well as the influence of age and gender of the driver. This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of their associated performance decrements. Subjects' confidence in dealing with distractors while driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task. While high confidence ratings appeared to be predictive of better driving performance for male drivers (as confidence increased, the size of the distraction effects decreased), this relationship did not hold for females; in fact, for older females, as confidence increased, performance decreased. Additionally, when drivers were matched in terms of confidence level, brake responses of older females were slowed to a much greater extent (0.38 s) than were brake responses of any other group (0.10s for younger males and females and 0.07 s for older males). Finally, females also rated the driving task as less demanding than males, even though their performance was more greatly affected by distraction. These results suggest that many drivers may not be aware of their decreased performance while using cell-phones and that it may be particularly important to target educational campaigns on driver distraction towards female drivers for whom there tended to be a greater discrepancy between driver perceptions and actual performance.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Do children have one third less peripheral vision than adults?

The following report is a case study example of how problematic information can invade and percolate through the literature on forensic human factors and ergonomics. Initially, a highly doubtful assertion was used to bolster an argument made in a legal case of wrongful death. The assertion was supported through reference to a number of cited works. When the trail of evidence was pursued, however, it became clear that diverse citations had all branched from one, single, original and doubtful source. The fundamental issue, whether children have one third less peripheral vision than adults turns out to be much more complex than the original, simplistic spatial conception suggested. The case study illustrates the importance of ascertaining original citations and is yet another example of the frustration that often accompanies forensic activity where financial and legal concerns frequently over-ride the fundamental search for knowledge.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed2003

Individual differences in behavioral compliance to warnings representing varying degrees of threat.

Research regarding warning compliance has often emphasized the physical aspects of the warning itself. Here, we examine the role of the perceiver in sensation seeking and health orientation as individual difference variables that affect behavioral compliance to a health warning. The experiment used a laboratory-based simulation of a chemistry demonstration that has been used in previous warnings research. In addition, however, individual difference effects of sensation seeking and health orientation were investigated. Among the significant findings were a significant interaction between condition assignment and sensation seeking on compliance outcome and a significant interaction between condition and health orientation. These results indicate that individual difference variables represent significant influences on the degree to which persons comply with warnings.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A dynamic model of stress and sustained attention.

This paper examines the effects of stress on sustained attention. With recognition of the task itself as the major source of cognitive stress, a dynamic model is presented that addresses the effects of stress on vigilance and, potentially, a wide variety of attention performance tasks.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2002

An investigation of heat stress effects on time-sharing performance.

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of heat stress on time-sharing performance. Twelve participants performed three dual-task scenarios and a multiple-task scenario for 2 h in each of six climates. The climates were obtained by generating each of three wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT; 22, 28 and 34 degrees C) with two relative humidity levels (30 and 70%). The dual tasks selected from the Criterion Task Set (CTS) were: (1) display monitoring with mathematical processing; (2) memory search with mathematical processing; and (3) unstable tracking with memory search. The multiple task scenario was generated using the SYNTASK software. The results indicated a significant heat stress effect on CTS display monitoring and unstable tracking performance and on the SYNTASK visual monitoring and auditory discrimination tasks. Additionally, at 34 degrees C WBGT, 70% relative humidity was more detrimental to performance than 30% relative humidity. Results were interpreted using the Maximal Adaptability Model and Shingledecker's information processing stage/resource framework. To describe the results in an orderly manner, the authors propose the concept of heat stress selectivity effects. In addition, the results were used to evaluate whether the most recent NIOSH recommended heat stress standard, which is based solely on physiological and medical criteria, protects time-sharing performance. It was concluded that the NIOSH criterion does offer protection up to 28 degrees C WBGT.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Effects of gender and athletic participation on driving capability.

This study sought to determine if spatiotemporal skills, represented by success in high level sport, transfer to driving and, if so, whether such transfer is mediated by the gender of the driver. Using an emergency-braking test, we compared the driving ability of male and female athletes and non-athletes and showed that athletes achieved significantly longer and therefore superior durations for time-to-contact. The advantage of athletic participation thus did not appear in movement time but rather in the ability to produce desirable performance in context. We found that males and females did not differ significantly with respect to driving, however, involvement in sport apparently transfers to aspects of driving and so provides benefits beyond the intrinsic reward of the sports activities themselves.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Driver workload response to in-vehicle device operations.

A central concern of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is the effect of in-vehicle devices (e.g., cell phones, navigation systems, radios, etc.) on driver performance and safety. As diverse and innovative technologies are designed and implemented for in-vehicle use, questions regarding the presence and use of these devices assume progressively greater importance. Further concerns for advanced driver training require us to develop and validate reliable and effective procedures for assessing such effects. This work examines a number of candidate procedures, in particular the evaluation of change in cognitive workload as a strategy by which such goals might be achieved.

Attention↗