The behavioral data (reaction times) and subjective data (SWAT ratings) replicate earlier findings and provide further validation of the Linguistic Processing Task's difficulty levels. Cortical evoked potentials elicited by the task suggest that resource allocation of mental processes and time needed for comparison and decision processes increase as difficulty level increases. Peripheral physiological indices (ECG, EMG, and EOG) were insensitive overall to the difficulty levels.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrookhuisK. A.MulderG.MulderL. J. M.GloerichA. B. (1983). The P3 complex as an index of information processing: The effects of response probability. Biological Psychology, 17, 277.
2.
CraikF. I. M.TulvingE. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104, 268–224.
3.
DonchinE.WickensC. D. (1981). The event related brain potential as an index of information processing: A program of basic research. CPL81-1/AF0SR81-1, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (NL), Boiling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.
4.
MulderG.MulderL. J. (1981). Information processing and cardiovascular control. Psychophysiology, 18, 392–409.
5.
PosnerM. I.MitchellR. F. (1967). Chronometric analysis of classification. Psychological Review, 74, 392–409.
6.
PotterS. S. (1986). Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) Subscale Sensitivity to Variations in Task Demand and Presentation Rate. Masters Thesis, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
7.
ShingledeckerC. A. (1984). A task battery for applied human performance assessment research. AMRL-TR-84-662202F,-AMD-ATSC, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
8.
ShingledeckerC. A.ActonW. H.CrabtreeM. S. (1983). Development and application of a Criterion Task Set for workload metric evaluation. Proceedings, 2nd Annual Aerospace Behavioral Engineering Technology Conference, Long Beach, Aerospace Congress and Exposition Press.
9.
ShulmanA. I. (1981). Memory for words recently classified. Memory and Cognition, 2, 47–52.
10.
SternJ. A.WalrathL. CGoldsteinR. (1984). The endogenous eyeblink: An indicant of cognitive activity and state. Psychophysiology, 21, 22–23.
11.
WisnerA. (1973). Electrophysiological measures for tasks of low energy expenditure. In SingletonW. T.FoxJ. G.WhitfieldD. (Eds.), Measurement of Man at Work. Taylor and FrancisLondon, 61–73.