The Role of Choice and Individual Differences in the Mitigation of Noise and Task Stressors on Vigilance

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of perceived control over aspects of a task (difficulty) on stress and workload in a vigilance task. Additionally, individual differences in dispositional factors and coping strategy chosen by the operator were considered. Prior research has indicated that pessimism has an effect on the level of experienced stress. Additionally, coping strategies have been linked to stress and workload ratings in a variety o f t asks (Matthews & Campbell, 1998). While these factors have been investigated independently, as is frequently the case, their complex interaction has remained unaddressed. In the study, we found that optimism was negatively related t o task engagement, though i t was p ositively related t o distress. Additionally, it was found to be a predictor of task-focused coping behaviors. More conscientious people were less likely to engage in task-focused or emotion-focused coping. Those who were less pessimistic tended to have heightened worry over the task.

Training for vigilance: The effect of knowledge of results format and dispositional optimism and pessimism on performance and stress

“…Performance Consistent with prior experimental findings, pessimism and optimism did not significantly affect the performance of observers (see Ganey et al, 2003;Szalma, 2002a;Thropp, Szalma, Ross, & Hancock, 2003). In one exception, Helton et al (1999) observed a steeper decrement in pessimists relative to optimists, but evidence from this and other investigations implies that these effects may be dependent on task characteristics.…”