Individual Differences in Fatigued Performance

Abstract

Cognitive fatigue is a prevalent issue across multiple military operational domains, resulting in degraded mission performance and costly mishaps. One approach to mitigating the effects of fatigue in operational environments is to develop technology, such as biomathematical, physiological, and cognitive models, that can help individuals assess and predict their fatigue and its impacts on performance. We can further enhance the accuracy of these models by incorporating individual difference metrics that allow for increased individualization. In the current study, we examine how individual differences in circadian typology, typical sleep duration, sleep duration need, and hardiness relate to fatigued performance during a 24-hr long mobility aircraft simulator session with mobility aircrews. Specifically, we examine individual difference relationships with performance on three cognitive tasks, the Psychomotor Vigilance Test, the N-back task, and the Change Signal Task, which measure processes crucial to operational performance: attention, working memory, and executive functioning.