A comparison of the vigilance performance of men and women using a simulated radar task.

PDFTech ReportFAA-AM-78-11DOT/FAA/AM-78/11Air traffic controlVisual display units (Computers)AutomationMonitoringPerformance testsAttentionVigilanceMalesFemalesHuman subject testingUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteThackray, Richard I.Touchstone, R. MarkBailey, J. PowellCivil Aeromedical InstituteUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsUS Transportation CollectionThe present study examined the question of possible sex differences in the ability to sustain attention to a complex monitoring task requiring only a detection response to critical stimulus changes. The visual display was designed to approximate a futuristic, highly automated air traffic control radar display containing computer-generated alphanumeric symbols.Twenty-six men and an equal number of women were each tested over a 2-hour session. Sixteen targets appeared on the screen at all times, with 10 signals (a designated change in the alphanumerics) randomly presented during each half hour of the test session. Detection latency to the signals increased significantly during the session, but there was no evidence of any significant difference between the sexes in the magnitude or pattern of this increase. The results are discussed in terms of a general decline in alertness that was apparently equal for both sexes