Accession Number:

AD0272915

Title:

PERFORMANCE SHARING IN DUAL-MODE MONITORING

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH INC LOS ANGELES CALIF

Personal Author(s):

• MCGRATH,JAMES J.

Report Date:

1962-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

1.0

Abstract:

IN A PREVIOUS STUDY OF SIGNAL DETECTION PERFORMANCE, IT WAS FOUND THAT WHEN INDIVIDUALS MONITORED TWO DISPLAYS CONCURRENTLY, DETECTION PERFORMANCE IMPROVED ON THE DISPLAY PRESENTING MORE EASILY DETECTED SIGNALS AND DECLINED ON THE DISPLAY PRESENTING LESS EASILY DETECTED SIGNALS COMPARED TO DETECTION PERFORMANCE ON A SINGLE DISPLAY ALONE. The phenomenon was called performance sharing. Two matched groups of 12 subjects were tested in a series of six 90-minute watchstanding sessions. In two sessions the subjects performed only an auditory vigilance task, in two sessions they performed only a visual vigilance task, and in two sessions they performed both tasks concurrently. In one group the auditory signals were easy to detect, while the visual signals were difficult to detect. In the other group the visual signals were easy and the auditory sign ls were difficult. A LARGER PER CENT OF THE EASY SIGNALS WERE DETECTED UNDER THE DUAL-MODE DISPLAY CONDITIONS THAN UNDER THE SINGLE-MODE CONDITIONS BUT THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IN THE PER CENT OF DIFFICULT SIGNALS DETECTED UNDER THE DUAL-MODE AND SINGLE-MO E CONDITIONS. Further analysis showed that the performance-sharing phenomenon was attributable to differences in signal detectability and was not attributable to preferences for one sensory modality over the other. Author

Descriptors:

• *DISPLAY SYSTEMS
• *HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING
• *MONITORS
• ATTENTION
• BEHAVIOR
• DETECTION
• HEARING
• REACTION (PSYCHOLOGY)
• REFLEXES
• ACOUSTIC SIGNALS
• THEORY
• VISION
• VISUAL SIGNALS

Subject Categories:

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE