ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090702

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe concept of auditory buffer storage is supported by evidence from studies of dichotic memory and serial recall tasks. Previously reported studies of modality‐specific grouping effects can also be accommodated within this theoretical framework, with the effects of stimulus grouping attributed to more effective utilization of the buffer. In this study, the representation of structured sequences in the auditory buffer was further explored in five experiments which investigated the extent to which this system can make use of prosodic cues. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the variations in pitch which constitute the intonation pattern of a natural utterance are extremely effective in enhancing memory performance. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the presence of a strong melodic contour is not a sufficient condition for improvement in recall, even when the melodic structure is both familiar and well‐formed. The results of Experiments 3 and 4 suggested that improvements in recall are most likely to occur when abrupt changes in pitch at group boundaries are the most prominent features of the pitch contour. In Experiment 5 the natural pitch contour was simplified to produce a pattern in which the final item in each group was spoken with accented pitch. This structure was found to be as effective as grouping by pauses. These findings are related to perceptual studies of intonation, and implications for theoretical accounts of auditory memory are discus

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090703

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractFollowing a tradition established by Broadbent of understanding the fate of the unattended message, the effects of extraneous sound (especially speech) on cognitive processing are reviewed. Speech disturbs the encoding or registration of visual material, particularly in settings in which the sound and vision combine to have the property of a single object. The effect of irrelevant speech on short‐term memory is confined to verbal or spatial tasks that require memory for serial order, and is most pronounced with sounds that exhibit change. This effect is not confined to speech, however, and a range of non‐speech sounds can disrupt serial recall. Studies using complex tasks, though less common, are consistent in showing appreciable interference from irrelevant speech. The effect on reading is qualitatively dissimilar to that found with short‐term memory. Implications for theory and practice are spelle

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090704

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis paper considers the relationship between levels of control and stressors put forward by Broadbent inDecision and Stress. Broadbent speculated that a lower level of control could be maintained in an optimal state by the activity of an upper level such that performance outcomes remained constant. The upper level, however, could become fatigued, allowing any inefficiency of the lower to be reflected in performance. He thought that lower inefficiency was a function of sleep deprivation, among other stressors. To illustrate the ideas put forward by Broadbent, preliminary results from an extended study of the effects of varying amounts of sleep deprivation and length of work day on an adaptive control task are presented, with the aim of exploring the value and limitation of the levels approach. The adaptive control task used is one developed by Broadbent to explore levels of control. The paper considers how levels of control could relate to behavioural outcomes of 'performance level' and 'work rate' under conditions of sleep loss and fatigue, and discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of so doing. We conclude that the levels of control approach offers a potentially rich interpretive framework for the effects of stressors on performance, but that attempting to relate particular performance indices to particular levels is a less fruitful diagnostic endeavour.

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090705

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThree experiments examine the effect of different forms of computer‐generated advice on concurrent and subsequent performance of individuals controlling a simulated intensive‐care task. Experiment 1 investigates the effect of optional and compulsory advice and shows that both result in an improvement in subjects' performance while receiving the advice, and also in an improvement in subsequent unaided performance. However, although the advice compliance displayed by the optional advice group shows a strong correlation with subsequent unaided performance, compulsory advice has no extra benefit over the optional use of advice. Experiment 2 examines the effect of providing users with on‐line explanations of the advice, as well as providing less specific advice. The results show that both groups perform at the same level on the task as the advice groups from Experiment 1, although subjects receiving explanations scored significantly higher on a written post‐task questionnaire. Experiment 3 investigates in more detail the relationship between advice compliance and performance. The results reveal a complex relationship between natural ability on the task and the following of advice, in that people who use the advice more tend to perform either better or worse than the more moderate users. The theoretical and practical implications of these experiments are di

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090706

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis research follows in the Broadbent tradition of constructing a general theory to solve applied problems. The paper reports part of wider research intended to construct a framework for modelling the planning and control of multiple task work. The function of the framework is to support the solution of design problems associated with the performance of interactive planning and control worksystems. The study reported here used an initial version of the framework, based on a study of secretarial office administration, to construct a model of medical reception work. An observational study collected protocol data concerning a medical reception worksystem, comprising two receptionists and various office devices; its domain of application, comprising doctors, patients, their appointments, medical records etc.; and its performance, comprising the quality of medical reception work and the costs to the receptionists of performing that work. The data were then used in conjunction with the planning and control framework to construct the model of medical reception. The model includes physical and abstract structures and behaviours of the medical reception worksystem, as well as physical and abstract objects of its domain of application. Of particular interest for the solution of design problems is the model's differentiation of plan types into task plans, procedure plans, and activity plans. These plan types were used to extend the framework for the planning and control of multiple task work. The paper concludes with a brief illustration of how the model of medical reception might be used to support the solution of interactive worksystem design problems as they relate to performance. Future work to develop further the framework of planning and control of multiple task work and its application are discussed.

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090707

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe aim of the present research was to extend the earlier work of Donald Broadbent on the relationship between cognitive failures scores and the difference between performance of categoric search and focused attention tasks. Results from four experiments, involving over 400 subjects, replicated Broadbent's finding that there was a small negative correlation between level of cognitive failure and the difference in speed of responding in categoric search and focused attention choice reaction time tasks. However, consideration of correlated attributes of cognitive failure showed that this effect could be explained in terms of differences in trait anxiety. It was, however, possible to derive another measure from the tasks, which was correlated with cognitive failure but independent of anxiety. In contrast to the relationship initially described by Broadbent, the correlation between the new measure and cognitive failure proved less reliable, being modified by the different contextual factors in the various experiments.

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090708

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractDonald Broadbent's work in developing and validating his Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) incidentally contributed to our understanding of what self‐assessment questionnaires (SAQs) can tell us about the nature of cognitive changes that occur in old age, and their effects on people's everyday lives. The literature on use of SAQs in age comparisons is reviewed in the context of this work, as is new empirical evidence that older people complain of general loss of memory efficiency but, paradoxically, report fewer lapses than young adults on the CFQ and other SAQs. These new data provide a basis for discussion of the reliability and consistency of SAQs and of their validity as tools to explore a wide range of changes associated with cognitive ageing: objective changes in cognitive ability and in objective functional competence; changes in people's understanding of their own cognitive processes, in their knowledge of cognitive and mnemonic strategies, and in their abilities to make use of these strategies; the extent to which responses given by older and younger adults reflect emotional and personality variables such as depression, anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, and perceived locus of control. Self‐reports by elderly adults on the CFQ, and other SAQs, simultaneously provide so many different kinds of information about the changes they experience, and about their attitudes and adaptations to old age, that apparently straightforward analyses give misleading answers. Methodological precautions are suggested for determining which questions can, and are, being asked and which analyses may, and which cannot, answer t

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090709

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractIn this field study, the work schedules of Driving Test Examiners1were systematically manipulated in a two‐period cross‐over trial designed to evaluate the effects of workload reduction (from the normal level of nine Driving Tests per day to either eight or seven Tests per day) on alertness. The research formed part of a wider study undertaken at the request of the Department of Transport to determine whether workload reduction should be introduced on a national basis to enhance working effectiveness and well‐being in this occupational group.Search‐and‐memory (SAM) tasks (with three levels of memory load) were administered at the start, middle, and end of the workday on pre‐determined days in each experimental period. Data analysis (n=49) showed that, with accuracy statistically controlled, speed of search improved more rapidly during the morning work period under reduced workload conditions (four Tests) than under normal workload (five Tests). This difference was maintained during the afternoon but did not increase. The effects of the seven Tests schedule were not found to be markedly different from those of the eight Tests schedule. The findings and recommendations are discussed with reference to relevant

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090710

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe problems of adapting measures of cognitive performance to Third World conditions are described, and three novel adaptations are proposed, one based on speed of sentence comprehension, one on vocabulary acquisition, and a third on speed of visual search using pictorial material. These and other existing tests are applied to studying the cognitive performance of Jamaican children as part of an investigation into the effects on cognition of infection by the parasitic wormTrichuris trichiura. We demonstrate that the tests are usable under Third World field conditions, and give reliable results. The validity of our proposed tests is indicated by their capacity to predict scholastic performance. Despite their brevity and avoidance of any demand on literacy, they yielded substantial correlations with the reading, spelling and arithmetic scales of the Wide Range Achievement Test.

ISSN:0888-4080    

DOI:10.1002/acp.2350090711

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY