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Simple auditory and visual interruptions of a continuous visual tracking task: modality effects and time course of interference.

Research has produced conflicting evidence regarding whether performance of an on-going visual task is disrupted more by an interruption from a visual or an auditory alert. Tasks and alerts studied to date have been complex or idiosyncratic. This experiment examined how the modality of simple alerts...

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Published in:Ergonomics Vol. 64; no. 7; pp. 879 - 891
Main Authors: Nees, Michael A., Sampsell, Natalie G.
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2021
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2021
      vid: 64
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/00140139.2021.1873424
        151136687
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        atl: Simple auditory and visual interruptions of a continuous visual tracking task: modality effects and time course of interference.
      aug:
        au:
          Nees, Michael A.
          Sampsell, Natalie G.
        affil: Department of Psychology, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Eye Movements
          Task Performance and Analysis Methods
          Attention
          Auditory Perception
          Visual Perception
          Human
          Female
          Male
          Experimental Studies
          Time Factors
          Workload
          Students, Undergraduate
          Dependent Variable
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Reaction Time
          Descriptive Statistics
          Analysis of Variance
          Female
          Male
      ab: Research has produced conflicting evidence regarding whether performance of an on-going visual task is disrupted more by an interruption from a visual or an auditory alert. Tasks and alerts studied to date have been complex or idiosyncratic. This experiment examined how the modality of simple alerts—visual icons or auditory tones—affected performance of an on-going visual task. Participants (58 females and 4 males) tracked a visual target while performing a choice reaction time task in response to alerts. Visual alerts were more harmful to performance of the tracking task. Dual task workload was lowest with an auditory alert, provided there was not noise present. Interruptions affected tracking task performance for around 1500 ms. Results supported the predictions of Multiple Resources Theory and showed no evidence of auditory preemption. In practical applications for which an on-going visual task is interrupted, auditory alerts may be less disruptive and may reduce perceived workload. Practitioner Summary: Many practical scenarios involve on-going visual tasks that are interrupted by simple alerts requiring a simple response. Auditory alerts may be less disruptive than visual alerts and may reduce perceived workload. A conservative estimate is that the effects of even simple interruptions will last a minimum of 1500 ms. Abbreviations: ANOVA: analysis of variance; LSD: least significant difference; TLX: task load index
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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