The Introduction to Vigilance Decrement Theory

viVigilance tasks require great deal of attention for an extended period of time. (Helton & Warm 2008) People who take place in such tasks usually find themselves struggling to concentrate after a period of time, this leads to decrease of accuracy and speed of the task, also known as vigilance decrement. There have been previous researches that suggest studies that have been the introduction to vigilance decrement theory. During the years of World War 2, radar system were used to detect enemy’s means of transport (submarine) while being under water. (Caggiano & Parasuraman , 2004). The radar monitor was also used couple of years after the world war 2 on Royal Air Force, same results had occurred. (Helton & Warm 2008). It was concluded that there has been a decrease in performance, the longer someone spends staring at radar monitors, their level of vigilance drops significantly. (Caggiano & Parasuraman , 2004) There have been many more studies that were carried for people who work for Macworth, studies showed attention can only be sustain for a short period of time, the longer the period of time was for vigilance task the worse they performed. This has been said for both human beings and non-human beings. (Helton & warm 2008)

Such recent theories related to vigilance decrement suggest that the reasoning behind the vigilance decrement is related to the decrease of “processing resources”. The participants in this experiment was required continuous monitor of the radar screen for a long period. In this time the continuous groups had to either make “targets or neutral stimuli discrimination” with any form of rest or any form of other activity. Considering these things in mind it is suggested that the resource section probably w...

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...ipants in the group have been engaged in the same vigilance experiment for a long period of time, the repetition of the same experiment decreases their vigilance. The conclusion has been drawn after considering the findings in the studies discussed above, all the finding discussed in this report conclude the same thing.

Works Cited

Caggiano, D., & Parasuraman, R. (2004). The role of memory representation in the vigilance decrement. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(5), 932-937. Doi: 10.3758/BF03196724 (ref 1)

Helton, W.S., & Russell, P.N. (2012). Brief mental breaks and content-free cues may not keep you focused. Experimental Brain Research, 219(1), 37-46. Doi: 10.1007/s00221-012-3065-0

Helton, W.S., & Warm, J.S. (2008). Signal salience and the mindlessness theory of vigilance. Acta Psychologica, 129(1), 18-25. Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2008.04.002