Effect of Task Demands on Elementary Features in Vigilance

Abstract

The current study sought to extend upon the findings of DeLucia et al. (2018), who observed a vigilance decrement when observers were asked to detect the presence of an elementary perceptual feature. A second, harder condition was introduced that asked participants to search for the absence of an elementary perceptual feature. Results indicated that correct detections and response time were worse in the feature-absence condition than in the feature-presence condition, and both conditions elicited progressively slower response times as the task progressed (i.e., a vigilance decrement). Eye-tracking data suggested that searching for feature-presence was more efficient than searching for feature-absence. These results echo those of DeLucia et al., indicating that elementary feature detection is not automatic and cannot protect fully against the vigilance decrement. Our results also suggest that display designs that task users with detecting elementary features can augment overall, average vigilance performance.