Interactions Among Target Salience,Eccentricity,Target Expectancy and Workload in an Alert Detection Task

Abstract

Attentional behavior in complex visual workspaces is driven by the physical and temporal characteristics of the display, the goals and knowledge of the operator, and task demands. Accordingly, to develop effective displays, designers must understand how these factors interact to influence attentional allocation within the display and the detectability of critical alerts. In the current study, participants performed a central highway-in-the-sky (HITS) manual tracking task and a peripheral alert detection task concurrently while alert eccentricity, salience, expectancy, and central task workload were manipulated. Eccentricity and expectancy effects were observed in both hit rates and response times (RTs). RT evinced interactions of salience with both eccentricity and expectancy, indicating that the absence of dynamic distractors allowed for more rapid detection of near alerts and more effective use of top-down attentional guidance in the detection of targets in high expectancy locations. Effects also manifested in PDT, with interactions between workload, salience, and target expectancy. Results demonstrate interactions among multiple bottom-up and top-down factors in the control of visual attention within a complex workspace.

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