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Bedi A, Russell PN, Helton WS. Perceptual decoupling in the sustained attention to response task is unlikely. Exp Brain Res 2024; 242:2033-2040. [PMID: 38958722 PMCID: PMC11252176 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-024-06885-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Researchers dispute the cause of errors in high Go, low No Go target detection tasks, like the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Some researchers propose errors in the SART are due to perceptual decoupling, where a participant is unaware of stimulus identity. This lack of external awareness causes an erroneous response. Other researchers suggest the majority of the errors in the SART are instead due to response leniency, not perceptual decoupling. Response delays may enable a participant who is initially unaware of stimulus identity, perceptually decoupled, to become aware of stimulus identity, or perceptually recoupled. If, however, the stimulus presentation time is shortened to the minimum necessary for stimulus recognition and the stimulus is disrupted with a structured mask, then there should be no time to enable perception to recouple even with a response delay. From the perceptual decoupling perspective, there should be no impact of a response delay on performance in this case. Alternatively if response bias is critical, then even in this case a response delay may impact performance. In this study, we shortened stimulus presentation time and added a structured mask. We examined whether a response delay impacted performance in the SART and tasks where the SART's response format was reversed. We expected a response delay would only impact signal detection theory bias, c, in the SART, where response leniency is an issue. In the reverse formatted SART, since bias was not expected to be lenient, we expected no impact or minimal impact of a response delay on response bias. These predictions were verified. Response bias is more critical in understanding SART performance, than perceptual decoupling, which is rare if it occurs at all in the SART.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman Bedi
- University of Canterbury, Chirstchurch, New Zealand
| | | | - William S Helton
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
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Biggs AT, Seech TR, Johnston SL, Russell DW. Psychological endurance: how grit, resilience, and related factors contribute to sustained effort despite adversity. THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 151:271-313. [PMID: 37697826 DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2023.2253955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
Many concepts describe how individuals sustain effort despite challenging circumstances. For example, scholars and practitioners may incorporate discussions of grit, hardiness, self-control, and resilience into their ideas of performance under adversity. Although there are nuanced points underlying each construct capable of generating empirically sound propositions, the shared attributes make them difficult to differentiate. As a result, substantial confusion arises when debating how these related factors concomitantly contribute to success, especially when practitioners attempt to communicate these ideas in applied settings. The model proposed here-psychological endurance-is a unified theory to explore how multiple concepts contribute to sustained goal-directed behaviors and individual success. Central to this model is the metaphor of a psychological battery, which potentiates and sustains optimal performance despite adversity. Grit and hardiness are associated with the maximum charge of the psychological battery, or how long an individual could sustain effort. Self-control modulates energy management that augments effort required to sustain endurance, whereas resilience represents the ability to recharge. These factors are constrained by both psychological and physiological stressors in the environment that drain the psychology battery. Taken together, these ideas form a novel framework to discuss related psychological concepts, and ideally, optimize intervention to enhance psychological endurance.
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Mensen JM, Holland SB, Helton WS, Shaw TH, Peterson MS. Prolonging the Response Movement Reduces Commission Errors in a High-Go, Low-No-Go Target Detection Task and Composite Metrics of Performance Miss This Effect. HUMAN FACTORS 2024; 66:1118-1131. [PMID: 36124873 DOI: 10.1177/00187208221127945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Expand research on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to a more applied agricultural target detection/selection task and examine the utility of various performance metrics, including composite measures of speed and accuracy, in a High-Go/Low-No-Go stimuli task. BACKGROUND Modified SARTs have been utilized to investigate mechanisms, such as failures of response inhibition, occurring in friendly fire and collateral damage incidents. Researchers have demonstrated that composite measures of speed and accuracy are useful for Low Go/High No-Go stimuli tasks, but this has not been demonstrated for High-Go/Low-No-Go tasks, such as the SART. METHOD Participants performed a modified SART, where they selected ("sprayed") images of weeds (Go stimuli) that appeared on a computer screen, while withholding to rarer soybean plant images (No-Go stimuli). RESULTS Response time was a function of distance from a central starting point. Participants committed commission errors (sprayed the soybeans) at a significantly higher rate when the stimuli appeared under the cursor centered on the screen for each trial. Participant's omission errors (failure to spray a weed) increased significantly as a function of distance. The composite measures examined were primarily influenced by response time and omission errors limiting their utility when commission errors are of particular interest. CONCLUSION Participants are far more accurate in their decision making when required to execute a longer duration motor task in High-Go/Low-No-Go experiments. APPLICATION Demonstrates a serious human factors liability of target detection and snap-to-target systems.
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Bedi A, Russell PN, Helton WS. Perceptual decoupling or trigger happiness: the effect of response delays and shorter presentation times on a go-no-go task with a high go prevalence. Exp Brain Res 2024:10.1007/s00221-024-06799-7. [PMID: 38448673 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-024-06799-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
In the current investigation, we modified the high Go, low No-Go Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Some researchers argue a commission error, an inappropriate response to a No-Go stimulus, in the SART is due to the participant being inattentive, or perceptually decoupled, during stimulus onset. Response delays in the SART reduce commission errors. A response delay may therefore enable a participant who is initially inattentive to recouple their attention in time to appropriately perceive the stimulus and withhold a response to a No-Go stimulus. However, shortening stimulus display duration in the SART should limit the possibility of the participant identifying the stimulus later, if they are initially not attending the stimulus. A response delay should not reduce commission errors if stimulus duration is kept to the minimum duration enabling stimulus recognition. In two experiments, we shortened stimulus onset to offset duration and added response delays of varying lengths. In both experiments, even when stimulus duration was shortened, response delays notably reduced commission errors if the delay was greater than 250 ms. In addition, using the Signal Detection Theory perspective in which errors of commission in the SART are due to a lenient response bias-trigger happiness, we predicted that response delays would result in a shift to a more conservative response bias in both experiments. These predictions were verified. The errors of commission in the SART may not be a measures of conscious awareness per se, but instead indicative of the level of participant trigger happiness-a lenient response bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman Bedi
- University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | | | - William S Helton
- University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
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Welhaf MS, Kane MJ. A combined experimental-correlational approach to the construct validity of performance-based and self-report-based measures of sustained attention. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:109-145. [PMID: 38012476 PMCID: PMC11134599 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02786-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The ability to sustain attention is often measured with either objective performance indicators, like within-person RT variability, or subjective self-reports, like mind wandering propensity. A more construct valid approach, however, may be to assess the covariation in these performance and self-report measures, given that each of these is influenced by different sources of measurement error. If the correlation between performance-variability and self-report measures reflects the sustained attention construct, then task manipulations aimed at reducing the sustained attention demands of tasks should reduce the correlation between them (in addition to reducing mean levels of variability and mind wandering). The current study investigated this claim with a combined experimental-correlation approach. In two experiments (Ns ~ 1,500 each), participants completed tasks that either maximized or minimized the demand for sustained attention. Our demand manipulations successfully reduced the mean levels of sustained attention failures in both the objective and subjective measures, in both experiments. In neither experiment, however, did the covariation between these measures change as a function of the sustained attention demands of the tasks. We can therefore claim only minimal support for the construct validity of our measurement approach to sustained attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew S. Welhaf
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA
| | - Michael J. Kane
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA
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Kallinen K, Ojanen T. Cognitive Performance changes during a 20-day Winter Military Training Course and the Following 10-day Recovery Period. Int J Circumpolar Health 2023; 82:2225896. [PMID: 37331012 DOI: 10.1080/22423982.2023.2225896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a winter military field training course consisting of strenuous physical stressors (e.g. physical activity, sleep deprivation and cold weather) on cognitive performance among Finnish soldiers.Methods: Fifty-eight (age 19 ± 1 years, height 182 ± 6 cm, body mass 78.5 ± 7.2 kg) male soldiers took part in a 20-day military field training course in northern Finland. Cognitive performance was assessed before, during, and after the course four times on a tablet computer. Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) was used to assess soldier's executive and inhibitory function. Baddeley's 3-min reasoning task (BRT) was used to assess grammatical reasoning, and Change Blindness (CB) task was used to assess visual perception.Results: Strenuous winter field training had detrimental effects in all performance tests compared to baseline. SART response rate decreased 27.3% (p < 0.001), and BRT and CB task scores decreased 20.6% (p < 0.01) and 14.1% (p < .05), respectively.Conclusion: The present study showed a decline in soldier's cognitive performance after 20-days of physically demanding winter military field training. To be able to optimise field training, it is important to be aware of how cognitive performance changes during military exercises and missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kari Kallinen
- Human Performance Division, Finnish Defence Research Agency, Tuusula, Finland
| | - Tommi Ojanen
- Human Performance Division, Finnish Defence Research Agency, Tuusula, Finland
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Biggs AT, Hamilton JA, Thompson AG, Jensen A, Suss J, Kelly K, Markwald RR. Not according to plan: Cognitive failures in marksmanship due to effects of expertise, unknown environments, and the likelihood of shooting unintended targets. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2023; 112:104058. [PMID: 37331030 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2023.104058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Shooting errors have multi-faceted causes with contributing factors that include sensorimotor activity and cognitive failures. Empirical investigations often assess mental errors through threat identification, yet other cognitive failures could contribute to poor outcomes. The current study explored several possible sources of cognitive failures unrelated to threat identification with live fire exercises. Experiment 1 examined a national shooting competition to compare marksmanship accuracy, expertise, and planning in the likelihood of hitting no-shoot or unintended targets. Experts demonstrated an inverse speed/accuracy trade-off and fired upon fewer no-shoot targets than lesser skilled shooters, yet overall, greater opportunity to plan produced more no-shoot errors, thereby demonstrating an increase in cognitive errors. Experiment 2 replicated and extended this finding under conditions accounting for target type, location, and number. These findings further dissociate the roles of marksmanship and cognition in shooting errors while suggesting that marksmanship evaluations should be re-designed to better incorporate cognitive variables.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrew G Thompson
- West Virginia University, United States; United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, United States
| | - Andrew Jensen
- Naval Health Research Center, United States; Leidos, United States
| | - Joel Suss
- Naval Health Research Center, United States; Leidos, United States; Wichita State University, United States
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Nassif TH, Adrian AL, Gutierrez IA, Dixon AC, Rogers SL, Jha AP, Adler AB. Optimizing Performance and Mental Skills With Mindfulness-Based Attention Training: Two Field Studies With Operational Units. Mil Med 2023; 188:e761-e770. [PMID: 34557922 DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usab380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mental skills such as focusing attention and managing emotions are essential for optimal performance in high-stress occupations. Studies with military samples have demonstrated that mindfulness training (MT) led to improved computer-based cognitive performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS To examine the impact of MT on operational performance, mental skills, and psychological health, a short-form program, Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT), was delivered to active duty soldiers as part of two randomized trials. Participants in study 1 (n = 121) and study 2 (n = 77) were randomized to one of three conditions: MT with proctored practice, MT with unproctored practice, or a waitlist control. Weekly 2-hour MBAT sessions were offered to participants in both MT conditions for 4 weeks. Beyond these sessions, participants also engaged in mindfulness practice that was proctored (within the occupational context) or unproctored (left up to the individual) for four subsequent weeks. RESULTS Overall, the frequency of mindfulness practice was generally associated with better performance and improvements in mental skills. In study 1, those who practiced 3 or more days per week performed better on marksmanship under physical stress and reported fewer attentional lapses, less emotion regulation difficulties, greater mental toughness, and higher self-reported mindfulness compared to those who did not practice. In study 2, the frequency of mindfulness practice was associated with fewer attentional lapses and emotion regulation difficulties. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with prior findings, results suggest that regular engagement in MT practice may help to optimize operational performance and improve mental skills in military cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H Nassif
- Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Amanda L Adrian
- Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Ian A Gutierrez
- Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Alexis C Dixon
- Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Scott L Rogers
- Mindfulness in Law Program, University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Amishi P Jha
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Amy B Adler
- Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
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Bedi A, Russell PN, Helton WS. Go-stimuli probability influences response bias in the sustained attention to response task: a signal detection theory perspective. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:509-518. [PMID: 35403969 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01679-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The sustained attention to response task (SART) is a popular measure in the psychology and neuroscience of attention. The underlying psychological cause for errors, in particular errors of commission, in the SART is actively disputed. Some researchers have suggested task-disengagement due to mind-wandering or mindlessness, and others have proposed strategic choices. In this study we explored an alternative perspective based on Signal Detection Theory, in which the high rate of commission errors in the SART reflects simply a shift in response bias (criterion) due to the high prevalence of Go-stimuli. We randomly assigned 406 participants to one of ten Go-stimuli prevalence rates (50%, 64%, 74%, 78%, 82%, 86%, 90%, 94%, 98% and 100%). As Go-stimuli prevalence increased reaction times to both Go and No-Go stimuli decreased, omission errors decreased and commission errors increased. These all were predicted from a hypothesized bias shift, but the findings were not compatible with some alternative theories of SART performance. These findings may have implications for similar tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman Bedi
- University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand
| | | | - William S Helton
- University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand.
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
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Biggs AT, Pettijohn KA, Sherwood S. How speed impacts threat assessment in lethal force decisions. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2023; 106:103890. [PMID: 36087541 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of being both fast and accurate in lethal force decisions, there is little empirical evidence to identify how speed impacts threat-related decisions and perception. Two experiments used speeded and unspeeded manipulations to determine how the speed imperative impacted threat assessments. Experiment 1 used drift diffusion modeling to quantify decision parameters, including rate of information processing, decision threshold, bias, and non-decisional processes. Speeded conditions reduced the information threshold needed to make decisions and shortened non-decisional processes, yet this manipulation had no impact on the rate of information processing or starting bias. Experiment 2 explored perceptual differences in threat assessment. Participants confidently made threat assessments despite only 30 ms exposure to stimuli with little impact on their subjective threat ratings based on exposure duration. Taken together, these results document the influence of speed on decision-making parameters of threat assessments while demonstrating little impact on threat perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Biggs
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States; Naval Special Warfare Command, United States.
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Nevin J, Jones MI. Human Performance Optimization (HPO) for the Warfighter—Keeping It Simple in a Complex Age: A Narrative Review. Strength Cond J 2022. [DOI: 10.1519/ssc.0000000000000766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Biggs AT, Suss J, Sherwood S, Hamilton JA, Olson T. Perception Over Personality in Lethal Force: Aggression, Impulsivity, and Big Five Traits in Threat Assessments and Behavioral Responses due to Weapon Presence and Posture. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.5406/19398298.135.2.06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The use of lethal force is a combination of threat perception and individual judgment that sometimes warrants a behavioral response. This simplified description implicates perceptual factors and individual differences in lethal force decision making, which ongoing research continues to address. However, personality-based factors have been less explored as to how they might affect either threat perception or behavioral responses in a lethal force decision. The current investigation examined multiple personality traits with the potential to influence lethal force decision making, including aggression, impulsivity, and the Big Five traits. These measures were compared to threat perception and behavioral responses made to a variety of lethal force stimuli broadly categorized as clear threats, ambiguous threats, and clear nonthreats. Samples were recruited from combat-trained infantry, military recruits, and the civilian community to control for prior lethal force training. Although there was a strong omnibus relationship between threat perception and the likelihood of a behavioral response, neither military training nor personality differences had any impact on threat perception or a binary (e.g., shoot/don't-shoot) behavioral response. Therefore, we conclude that perception dominates personality in lethal force decision making when the threat assessment decision is limited to factors such as weapon presence or posture rather than emotion.
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Biggs AT. Applying inhibitory control theories to shoot/don't‐shoot decisions. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Blacker KJ, Pettijohn KA, Roush G, Biggs AT. Measuring Lethal Force Performance in the Lab: The Effects of Simulator Realism and Participant Experience. HUMAN FACTORS 2021; 63:1141-1155. [PMID: 32297813 DOI: 10.1177/0018720820916975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The goal of the current study was to compare two types of shooting simulators to determine which is best suited for assessing different aspects of lethal force performance. BACKGROUND Military and law enforcement personnel are often required to make decisions regarding the use of lethal force. A critical goal of both training and research endeavors surrounding lethal force is to find ways to simulate lethal force encounters to better understand behavior in those scenarios. METHOD Participants of varying degrees of experience completed both marksmanship and shoot/don't shoot scenarios on both a video game and a military-grade shooting simulator. Using signal detection theory, we assessed sensitivity as a measure of lethal force performance overall. We used hit rate to assess shooting accuracy and false alarm rate to assess decision making. RESULTS Results demonstrated that performance was correlated across simulators. Results supported the notion that shooting accuracy and decision making are independent components of performance. Individuals with firearms expertise outperformed novices on the military-grade simulator, but only with respect to shooting accuracy, not unintended casualties. Individuals with video game experience outperformed novices in the video game simulator, but again only on shooting accuracy. CONCLUSION Experience played a crucial role in the assessment of shooting accuracy on a given simulator platform; decision-making performance remained unaffected by experience level or type of simulator. APPLICATION We recommend that in expert populations or when assessing shooting accuracy, a military-grade shooting simulator be used. However, with a novice population and/or when interested in decision making in lethal force, a video game simulator is appropriate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara J Blacker
- 142620 Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kyle A Pettijohn
- 142620 Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Grant Roush
- 142620 Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Adam T Biggs
- 142620 Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
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Mensen JM, Dang JS, Stets AJ, Helton WS. The effects of real-time performance feedback and performance emphasis on the sustained attention to response task (SART). PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:1972-1979. [PMID: 34623490 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01602-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The sustained attention to response task (SART) has been used for over 20 years to assess participants' response times and inability to withhold to No-Go stimuli (commission errors). While there is debate in the literature regarding what causes commissions errors in the SART, there is agreement the SART is subject to a speed-accuracy trade-off (SATO). Researchers have demonstrated that performance on the SART can be influenced by directive instructions to participants to prioritize either speed or accuracy during the task. In the present study, we investigated whether real-time performance feedback and whether feedback emphasis (emphasizing speed or accuracy) affected participants' response times and accuracy. We found performance feedback per se had no impact on performance, but performance emphasis did affect performance, apparently shifting the SATO. This finding provides further evidence that the commission errors in the SART are not indicative of sustained attention or vigilance as those terms are commonly used in the literature, but more likely assess response strategy and motor control (or lack of motor control). These findings have implications for the psychological assessment literature, as well as applied areas where SART findings have been utilized such as shoot/no-shoot decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M Mensen
- George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
| | - Jasmine S Dang
- George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
| | - Andrew J Stets
- George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
| | - William S Helton
- George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
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Biggs AT, Pettijohn KA. The role of inhibitory control in shoot/don't-shoot decisions. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:536-549. [PMID: 34494915 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211041923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previous work has demonstrated a link between cognitive abilities, specifically inhibitory control and lethal force decision-making performance. However, many previously used approaches to simulating shoot/don't shoot scenarios have lacked ecological validity. There is a need to investigate how inhibitory control impacts shoot/don't decisions using realistic simulations to better translate the findings to military and law enforcement settings. This study used multiple cognitive control tasks incorporating discrete judgements in go/no-go and stop signal tasks as well as subjective judgements in go/no-go tasks with both colour stimuli and emotional faces. These combined tasks provided a comprehensive evaluation of inhibitory control abilities. To ensure ecological validity in shooting performance, existing military training scenarios incorporated realistic weaponry and aiming behaviours across different shoot/don't-shoot simulations. The inhibitory control battery identified five principal components from the various tasks, including: stopping ability, response speed, emotion detection, colour detection, and emotional biases. These principal inhibitory control components were entered into hierarchical linear regressions with the dependent variables of unintended casualties inflicted and lethal rounds fired, respectively. Stopping ability better predicted the likelihood of inflicting an unintended casualty, whereas response speed better predicted the number of lethal rounds fired. These regression models included baseline metrics of marksmanship and shots fired, which supports a role for inhibitory control above and beyond basic shooting abilities or strategy. These collective findings provide mechanistic support for the relationship between inhibitory control and errors in shoot/don't-shoot decision-making while using realistic military training scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Biggs
- Naval Special Warfare Command, Coronado, CA, USA
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Biggs AT, Pistone D, Riggenbach M, Hamilton JA, Blacker KJ. How unintentional cues can bias threat assessments during shoot/don't-shoot simulations. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2021; 95:103451. [PMID: 33971540 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Identify whether contextual information may unintentionally alter decision-making during lethal force training. BACKGROUND Lethal force decisions inherently involve a threat assessment, where an individual learns to identify a threat and use force commensurate to the situation. This decision is ultimately subject to numerous cognitive influences, particularly during training where artificial factors may bias decision-making. METHOD Participants made threat assessments for tasks that presented hostile stimuli (pointing guns) and non-hostile stimuli (holding cell phones). Experiment 1 identified issues in target design by applying scoring rings as cues to targets, whereas Experiment 2 used bullet holes to assess cues due to target reuse. Experiment 3 applied these cues equally to hostile and non-hostile stimuli to prevent a predictive relationship from forming. RESULTS Significant cueing effects were observed in both Experiments 1 and 2. For Experiment 3, response times were not impacted by the invalid cues as participants could no longer reliably use the cue to distinguish between hostile and non-hostile stimuli. CONCLUSION Stimulus-related factors can unintentionally create predictive relationships during lethal force training. These predictive factors are problematic because they allow participants to make threat assessments during training in a way that would never be realistic in the field. APPLICATION Modifications should be made to hostile and non-hostile targets in equal measure to avoid creating an unintentionally predictive relationship that identifies hostile targets. In practice, scoring rings and bullet holes should be added to non-hostile stimuli to better parallel hostile stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Biggs
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States; Naval Special Warfare Command, United States.
| | - Dominick Pistone
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, United States
| | | | - Joseph A Hamilton
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, United States
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Perceptual and response factors in the gradual onset continuous performance tasks. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:3008-3023. [PMID: 34355343 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02353-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Using a novel gradual onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), recent research has uncovered a brain network of the sustained attention ability, demonstrating marked individual differences. Yet much about the cognitive processes that support performance on the gradCPT remains unknown. Here, we tested the importance of response inhibition and perceptual discrimination in the gradCPT. Participants monitored a continuous stream of natural scenes from two categories-cities and mountains-with a 9:1 ratio. In separate task blocks, they responded either to the frequent or the rare, yielding a response rate of either 90% or 10%. Performance was much worse, and declined more significantly over time, when the required response rate was higher. To test the role of stimulus onset, separate task blocks presented the scenes either gradually, with adjacent scenes blending into each other (gradCPT), or abruptly, with a single scene visible at a time (abruptCPT). Despite its increased complexity, the gradCPT yielded better performance than the abruptCPT, contradicting the perceptual complexity hypothesis and suggesting a detrimental role of the automaticity of responses to rhythmic stimuli in sustained attention. Further bolstering the role of response inhibition in the gradCPT, participants with superior inhibitory function, as assessed by the "stop-signal" task, did better on the gradCPT. These findings show that response inhibition contributes to the ability to sustain attention, especially in tasks that require frequent and repetitive responses as in assembly-line jobs.
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Biggs AT. Developing scenarios that evoke shoot/don't-shoot errors. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2021; 94:103397. [PMID: 33714728 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Multiple errors can occur in a use-of-force scenario, although some critical errors involve unintended casualties where the target should never have been fired upon. Training instructors utilize a variety of methods to ensure military and law enforcement personnel do not inflict unintended casualties. However, there is little empirical evidence about the best methods to design a shooting simulation that might evoke these errors, which is critical to ensure the validity of any assessment or training exercise. The current study analyzed performance across a variety of simulated shooting scenarios developed and applied for military training purposes. Several factors were assessed based upon either the scenario or human performance. Scenario type, number of shots fired, and the ratio of hostiles-to-non-hostiles were significant predictors for the likelihood of inflicting an unintended casualty. This collected evidence should help improve scenario design for future training simulations that will help avoid these critical shooting errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Biggs
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States; Naval Special Warfare Command, United States.
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Perception during use of force and the likelihood of firing upon an unarmed person. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13313. [PMID: 34172769 PMCID: PMC8233317 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90918-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress can impact perception, especially during use-of-force. Research efforts can thus advance both theory and practice by examining how perception during use-of-force might drive behavior. The current study explored the relationship between perceptual judgments and performance during novel close-combat training. Analyses included perceptual judgments from close-combat assessments conducted pre-training and post-training that required realistic use-of-force decisions in addition to an artificially construed stress-inoculation event used as a training exercise. Participants demonstrated significant reductions in situational awareness while under direct fire, which correlated to increased physiological stress. The initial likelihood of firing upon an unarmed person predicted the perceptual shortcomings of later stress-inoculation training. Subsequently, likelihood of firing upon an unarmed person was reduced following the stress-inoculation training. These preliminary findings have several implications for low or zero-cost solutions that might help trainers identify individuals who are underprepared for field responsibilities.
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21
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Biggs AT, Pettijohn KA, Gardony AL. When the response does not match the threat: The relationship between threat assessment and behavioural response in ambiguous lethal force decision-making. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 74:812-825. [PMID: 33427067 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820985819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Deciding when to use lethal force inherently depends on assessing threat, a process that itself incorporates numerous perceptual factors. This study assessed this relationship between perception-based threat assessment and behaviour-based threat response. Specifically, participants completed multiple tasks designed to elicit either a threat rating (e.g., perception-informed threat assessment) or a binary behavioural response (e.g., shoot/don't-shoot). Actor posture and weapon presence significantly affected the threat assessment, which was an extremely powerful omnibus predictor of threat response. However, for ambiguous threat stimuli, perceived threat became a poor predictor for threat response relative to the omnibus test. Participants appeared to adopt additional rules to inform behaviour independent of the threat assessment when faced with an ambiguous situation. These results demonstrate an intriguing disparity between subjective threat assessment and the behavioural response to use force that does not apply well to ambiguous cases or adequately explain errors in lethal force decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Biggs
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.,Naval Special Warfare Command, Coronado, CA, USA
| | - Kyle A Pettijohn
- Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.,The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Aaron L Gardony
- U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick, MA, USA.,Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
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Head J, Tenan MS, Tweedell AJ, Wilson KM, Helton WS. Response Complexity Reduces Errors on a Response Inhibition Task. HUMAN FACTORS 2020; 62:787-799. [PMID: 31237776 DOI: 10.1177/0018720819852801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this investigation was to elucidate the role of button-response complexity to targets in a response inhibition task. BACKGROUND Response inhibition is the ability to correctly inhibit an overt response to a target. The U.S. military is actively pursuing development of armed, combat robots as a force multiplier, which may present challenges to operators of combat robots in the form of response inhibition errors. METHOD A total of 15 participants completed two 51-min versions of a modified sustained attention to response task (SART). Participants were outfitted with an electrocardiogram to index heart-rate variability and completed the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to index workload. RESULTS The results demonstrated that the complex SART reduced errors of commission (4%) and slowed response times (874 ms) to correct Go targets relative to the simple SART (14%, 739 ms). The NASA-TLX did not show differences between the modified SARTs; however, heart-rate variability did demonstrate that Soldiers had an increased autonomic stress response to the complex SART. CONCLUSION Increasing the behavioral response requirement during a response inhibition task can decrease errors of commission; however, it comes at the cost of slower response times to target stimuli. Heart-rate variability may provide better insight into objective workload relative to subjective measures. APPLICATION The use of complex behavioral responses may provide a viable option to reduce potential "friendly fire" or collateral damage by Soldiers remotely engaging a target-rich environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Head
- 207132 U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA
| | - Matthew S Tenan
- 207132 U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Kyle M Wilson
- Seeing Machines, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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Munnik A, Näswall K, Woodward G, Helton WS. The quick and the dead: A paradigm for studying friendly fire. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2020; 84:103032. [PMID: 31987515 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.103032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) is a computer based Go-No-Go response task. Participants respond to frequently occurring neutral stimuli and withhold responses to rare target stimuli. Researchers have suggested the inhibition demands of the SART may mirror those which occur in some firearm accidents. Participants in the present experiment used a simulated nonlethal weapon to subdue threats (images of people holding guns) on large screens. Participants completed a target rich task (high Go low No-Go, like a SART), a target sparse task (low Go/high No-Go), a verbal recall task, and dual versions of the target rich and target sparse tasks with the verbal recall task as the secondary task. Results provided further evidence that some accidental shootings may result from failures of response inhibition and that additional cognitive load is detrimental to overall performance. Future studies should explore the role of response inhibition in realistic firearm scenarios.
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25
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Zanesco AP, Denkova E, Rogers SL, MacNulty WK, Jha AP. Mindfulness training as cognitive training in high-demand cohorts: An initial study in elite military servicemembers. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2018; 244:323-354. [PMID: 30732844 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive ability is a key selection criterion for entry into many elite professions. Herein, we investigate whether mindfulness training (MT) can enhance cognitive performance in elite military forces. The cognitive effects of a short-form 8-h MT program contextualized for military cohorts, referred to as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT), were assessed. Servicemembers received either a 2-week (n=40) or 4-week (n=36) version of MBAT or no training (NTC, n=44). Sustained attention and working memory task performance along with self-reported cognitive failures were assessed at study onset (T1) and 8-weeks later (T2). In contrast to both the NTC and 2-week MT groups, the 4-week MT group significantly improved over time on attention and working memory outcome measures. Among the 4-week more so than the 2-week MBAT participants, working memory performance improvements were correlated with their amount of out-of-class MT practice. In addition to these group-wise effects, all participants receiving MBAT decreased in their self-reported cognitive failures from T1 to T2. Importantly, none of these improvements were related to self-reported task motivation. Together, these results suggest that short-form MT, when delivered over a 4-week delivery schedule, may be an effective cognitive training tool in elite military cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony P Zanesco
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | - Ekaterina Denkova
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | - Scott L Rogers
- School of Law, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
| | - William K MacNulty
- United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Amishi P Jha
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States.
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26
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Cognitive Training for Military Application: a Review of the Literature and Practical Guide. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-018-0076-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Wilson KM, de Joux NR, Finkbeiner KM, Russell PN, Retzler JR, Helton WS. Prolonging the response movement inhibits the feed-forward motor program in the sustained attention to response task. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 183:75-84. [PMID: 29351864 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2017] [Revised: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite widespread use in clinical and experimental contexts, debate continues over whether or not the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) successfully measures sustained attention. Altering physical aspects of the response movement required to SART stimuli may help identify whether performance is a better measure of perceptual decoupling, or response strategies and motor inhibition. Participants completed a SART where they had to manually move a mouse cursor to respond to stimuli, and another SART where this extra movement was not required, as in a typical SART. Additionally, stimuli were located at either a close or a far distance away. Commission errors were inversely related to distance in the manual movement condition, as the farther distance led to longer response times which gave participants more time to inhibit prepotent responses and thus prevent commission errors. Self-reported measures of mental demand and fatigue suggested there were no differences in mental demands between the manual and automatic condition; instead the differences were primarily in physical demands. No differences were found for task-unrelated thoughts between the manual and automatic condition. The movement effect combined with participants' subjective reports are evidence for time dependent action stopping, not greater cognitive engagement. These findings support a response strategy perspective as opposed to a perceptual decoupling perspective, and have implications for authors considering using the SART. Applied implications of this research are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle M Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom.
| | - Neil R de Joux
- Department of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | | | - Paul N Russell
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Jenny R Retzler
- York Health Economics Consortium, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - William S Helton
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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Smith CD, Cooper AD, Merullo DJ, Cohen BS, Heaton KJ, Claro PJ, Smith T. Sleep restriction and cognitive load affect performance on a simulated marksmanship task. J Sleep Res 2017; 28:e12637. [DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carl D. Smith
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
| | - Adam D. Cooper
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
| | | | - Bruce S. Cohen
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
| | - Kristin J. Heaton
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
| | - Pedro J. Claro
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
| | - Tracey Smith
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick MA USA
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Head J, Tenan MS, Tweedell AJ, LaFiandra ME, Morelli F, Wilson KM, Ortega SV, Helton WS. Prior Mental Fatigue Impairs Marksmanship Decision Performance. Front Physiol 2017; 8:680. [PMID: 28951724 PMCID: PMC5599781 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Mental fatigue has been shown to impair subsequent physical performance in continuous and discontinuous exercise. However, its influence on subsequent fine-motor performance in an applied setting (e.g., marksmanship for trained soldiers) is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether prior mental fatigue influences subsequent marksmanship performance as measured by shooting accuracy and judgment of soldiers in a live-fire scenario. Methods: Twenty trained infantry soldiers engaged targets after completing either a mental fatigue or control intervention in a repeated measure design. Heart rate variability and the NASA-TLX were used to gauge physiological and subjective effects of the interventions. Target hit proportion, projectile group accuracy, and precision were used to measure marksmanship accuracy. Marksmanship accuracy was assessed by measuring bullet group accuracy (i.e., how close a group of shots are relative to center of mass) and bullet group precision (i.e., how close are each individual shot to each other). Additionally, marksmanship decision accuracy (correctly shooting vs. correctly withholding shot) when engaging targets was used to examine marksmanship performance. Results: Soldiers rated the mentally fatiguing task (59.88 ± 23.7) as having greater mental workload relative to the control intervention [31.29 ± 12.3, t(19) = 1.72, p < 0.001]. Additionally, soldiers completing the mental fatigue intervention (96.04 ± = 37.1) also had lower time-domain (standard deviation of normal to normal R-R intervals) heart rate variability relative to the control [134.39 ± 47.4, t(18) = 3.59, p < 0.001]. Projectile group accuracy and group precision failed to show differences between interventions [t(19) = 0.98, p = 0.34, t(19) = 0.18, p = 0.87, respectively]. Marksmanship decision errors significantly increased after soldiers completed the mental fatigue intervention (48% ± 22.4) relative to the control intervention [M = 32% ± 79.9, t(19) = 4.39, p < 0.001]. There was a significant negative correlation between shooting response time and errors of commission (r = −0.61; p = 0.004) when preceded by the mental fatigue intervention, but not the control (r = −0.31; p = 0.17). Conclusion: The mental fatigue intervention was successful in eliciting fatigue which was supported subjectively and objectively. Marksmanship judgment performance is significantly reduced when soldiers are mentally fatigued, although shot accuracy is not.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Head
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Dismounted Soldier and Team Performance BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - Matthew S Tenan
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Integrated Capability Enhancement BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - Andrew J Tweedell
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Integrated Capability Enhancement BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - Michael E LaFiandra
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Integrated Capability Enhancement BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - Frank Morelli
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Integrated Capability Enhancement BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - Kyle M Wilson
- Psychology Department, University of HuddersfieldHuddersfield, United Kingdom
| | - Samson V Ortega
- United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Dismounted Soldier and Team Performance BranchAberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
| | - William S Helton
- ARCH Lab, Human Factors and Applied Cognition, George Mason UniversityFairfax, VA, United States
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Morelli F, Neugebauer JM, Haynes CA, Fry TC, Ortega SV, Struve DJ, LaFiandra ME, Larkin GB. Shooter-System Performance Variability as a Function of Recoil Dynamics. HUMAN FACTORS 2017; 59:973-985. [PMID: 28796972 DOI: 10.1177/0018720817700537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to quantify shooter performance relative to subtle variations in recoil energy. BACKGROUND Marksmanship performance remains undefined for subtle distinctions in weapon recoil energy across common small-arms platforms. METHOD Weapons were customized using multiple components and ammunition types. Firing scenarios were designed to examine the effect of recoil energy on shooter timing and accuracy. RESULTS The results suggest that recoil condition does not affect timing during firing sequences designed to elicit differences in timed-fire performance. Recoil condition did, however, influence shot placement, with accuracy decreasing as the energy associated with firing increased. Subjective recoil estimations were quantified according to relative magnitude and spatial distribution of perceived energy transferred at shooter-weapon surface contact locations. CONCLUSION The absence of differences in time to engage may be reflective of resistance to recoil-induced point-of-aim deviation based on experience. Distinctions in performance were revealed despite subtle differences in recoil energy between conditions. An instrument that may be sensitive to shooter perception of subtle differences in recoil energy during firing was also developed. APPLICATION The findings inform performance expectations for small-arms systems relative to recoil energy levels transferred to the shooter during dynamic firing events.
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Reiner AJ, Hollands JG, Jamieson GA. Target Detection and Identification Performance Using an Automatic Target Detection System. HUMAN FACTORS 2017; 59:242-258. [PMID: 27738280 DOI: 10.1177/0018720816670768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated the effects of automatic target detection (ATD) on the detection and identification performance of soldiers. BACKGROUND Prior studies have shown that highlighting targets can aid their detection. We provided soldiers with ATD that was more likely to detect one target identity than another, potentially acting as an implicit identification aid. METHOD Twenty-eight soldiers detected and identified simulated human targets in an immersive virtual environment with and without ATD. Task difficulty was manipulated by varying scene illumination (day, night). The ATD identification bias was also manipulated (hostile bias, no bias, and friendly bias). We used signal detection measures to treat the identification results. RESULTS ATD presence improved detection performance, especially under high task difficulty (night illumination). Identification sensitivity was greater for cued than uncued targets. The identification decision criterion for cued targets varied with the ATD identification bias but showed a "sluggish beta" effect. CONCLUSION ATD helps soldiers detect and identify targets. The effects of biased ATD on identification should be considered with respect to the operational context. APPLICATION Less-than-perfectly-reliable ATD is a useful detection aid for dismounted soldiers. Disclosure of known ATD identification bias to the operator may aid the identification process.
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32
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Abu-Zidan FM. Dramatic outcome of a "friendly fire". Surgery 2016; 160:1422-1423. [PMID: 27524429 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2016.06.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fikri M Abu-Zidan
- Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
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Wilson KM, Finkbeiner KM, de Joux NR, Russell PN, Helton WS. Go-stimuli proportion influences response strategy in a sustained attention to response task. Exp Brain Res 2016; 234:2989-98. [PMID: 27329605 PMCID: PMC5025487 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-016-4701-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The sustained attention to response task (SART) usefulness as a measure of sustained attention has been questioned. The SART may instead be a better measure of other psychological processes and could prove useful in understanding some real-world behaviours. Thirty participants completed four Go/No-Go response tasks much like the SART, with Go-stimuli proportions of .50, .65, .80 and .95. As Go-stimuli proportion increased, reaction times decreased while both commission errors and self-reported task-related thoughts increased. Performance measures were associated with task-related thoughts but not task-unrelated thoughts. Instead of faster reaction times and increased commission errors being due to absentmindedness or perceptual decoupling from the task, the results suggested participants made use of two competing response strategies, in line with a response strategy or response inhibition perspective of SART performance. Interestingly, performance measures changed in a nonlinear manner, despite the linear Go proportion increase. A threshold may exist where the prepotent motor response becomes more pronounced, leading to the disproportionate increase in response speed and commission errors. This research has implications for researchers looking to employ the SART and for more applied contexts where the consequences of response inhibition failures can be serious.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle M Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. .,The Applied Cognition and Cognitive Engineering Group, Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
| | - Kristin M Finkbeiner
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Neil R de Joux
- Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Paul N Russell
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - William S Helton
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
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