Social norms and cognitive performance

Abstract

Vigilance, or the ability to sustain attention over prolonged periods of time, is an important component of tasks in a wide variety of settings. A large body of research has demonstrated that performance on these tasks declines with time on watch, a pattern referred to as the vigilance decrement. One factor that has been mostly neglected in prior research is the effect of the presence of a supervisory person during a vigilance task. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of the presence of a supervisory figure on the performance, perceived workload, and stress associated with vigilance. It was hypothesized that the presence of a supervisory figure would increase overall performance and also attenuate the vigilance decrement. However, it was also expected to increase the perceived workload and stress associated with the task.