A series of studies is described using the NASA-TLX to measure the perceived mental workload of vigilance tasks. Contrary to prior belief, these studies indicate that such tasks are not understimulating. Instead, the cost of mental operations in vigilance is substantial, with mental demand and frustration tending to be the primary contributors to workload. These findings support a resource model of vigilance suggested by Davies and Parasuraman (1982) and lead to the suggestion that the mental demand imposed by vigilance tasks should not be underestimated in the design of human-machine systems.
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