On the Characteristics of Sustained Attention Test Performance

Abstract

Abstract. Most psychometric tests assessing sustained attention are characterized by a specific presentation mode: Many items are presented simultaneously and the test takers are required to constantly process and react to them until the testing time is up. The aim of the present study was to look into two mechanisms that potentially underlie performance in these tests: The ability to focus on the currently relevant item and the ability to preprocess upcoming items to prepare for upcoming actions. In order to assess both abilities, the d2-R test of sustained attention was modified and its stimulus arrangement (single, blocks vs. rows of stimuli) was manipulated. The measure of focusing was unreliable and unrelated to performance in standard sustained attention tests. However, the data indicated a strong preview benefit. That is, the test takers preprocessed upcoming items when they got a valid preview of them, which considerably enhanced performance. Moreover, interindividual differences in the preview benefit proved to be internally reliable as well as reliable in retest and were substantially related to performance in three conventional sustained attention tests. We conclude that preprocessing constitutes an important component of performance in sustained attention tests and most likely represents a stable cognitive ability rather than a strategy.