Abstract
The vigilance of college students (32 men, 32 women) as related to three variables was assessed. Observers given evaluative-test instructions and knowledge of results or tested with the experimenter present detected more signals than their respective counterparts given standard-task instructions and no knowledge of results or tested with the experimenter absent. Overall, a vigilance decrement occurred across the 48-min watch. Of the three independent variables, only evaluative instructions was effective in preventing a decrement.
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This research was the basis for a doctoral dissertation by the first author under the direction of the second author.
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Huntermark, J.M., Witte, K.L. Vigilance performance as related to task instructions, coaction, and knowledge of results. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 12, 325–328 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329697
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329697