Psychology of Perception

xi, 402 hal., ill., 22 c

Being optimismtic may not always be advantageous: The relationship between dispositional optimism, coping, and performance

The effects of dispositional optimism on performance and self-reports of coping strategy were examined in a low and a high signal salience vigilance task performed in quiet or during exposure to jet-aircraft engine noise. The results of this study partially support Scheier and Carver\u27s (1985; 1987) habitual coping styles theory, in which people varying in optimism differ in their general coping strategies. Optimism in most cases correlated positively with task-focused coping and negatively with off-task approaches. When the task setting elicited a coping style contrary to dispositional preference, however, performance was actually impaired. In the low-salience, quiet condition of this experiment optimism correlated negatively with performance; this condition also elicited elevated levels of maladaptive, off-task coping. Being highly optimistic may not always be an advantage in performance settings

The Vigilance Decrement Reflects Limitations In Effortful Attention, Not Mindlessness

Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, and Yiend (1997) proposed that the decline in performance efficiency over time in vigilance tasks (the vigilance decrement) is characterized by mindlessness or a withdrawal of attentional effort from the monitoring assignment. We assessed that proposal using measures of perceived mental workload (NASA-TLX) and stress (Dundee Stress State Questionnaire). Two types of vigilance task were employed: a traditional version, wherein observers made button-press responses to signify detection of rarely occurring critical signals, and a modified version, developed by Robertson et al. to promote mindlessness via routinization, wherein button-press responses acknowledged frequently occurring neutral stimulus events and response withholding signified critical signal detection. The vigilance decrement was observed in both tasks, and both tasks generated equally elevated levels of workload and stress, the latter including cognitions relating to performance adequacy. Vigilance performance seems better characterized by effortful attention (mindfulness) than by mindlessness. Actual or potential applications of this research include procedures to reduce the information-processing demand imposed by vigilance tasks and the stress associated with such tasks

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\u27s level of pessimism and optimism. In addition, KR format and personality affected the multiple dimensions of stress state in different ways

Demand Transitions In Vigilance: Effects On Performance Efficiency And Stress

The National Research Council (Huey & Wickens, 1993) has identified transitions in task demand as an important dimension of human operator response. The effects of such demand transitions on vigilance performance have been explored in only two published studies (Krulewitz, Warm, & Wohl, 1975; Gluckman, Warm, Dember, & Rosa, 1993). The results of the first study suggested that the effects of transitions in task demand are characterized by simple psychophysical contrast. However, the latter study failed to confirm these results. The present study was designed to further explore whether demand transitions can be adequately described by a psychophysical contrast model. With that goal in mind, observers were shifted from a high salience (low demand) to a low salience (high demand) condition and vice-versa. Results failed to confirm the psychophysical contrast model. However, they did show that transitions in task demand have important implications for task-induced stress