Auditory attention and multiattribute decision-making during a 33 h sleep-deprivation period: mean performance and between-subject dispersions

Author(s): Edland, A., Bergstrom, M.

Journal/Book: Ergonomics. 1999; 42: One Gunpowder Square, London EC4a 3de, England. Taylor & Francis Ltd. 696-713.

Abstract: One purpose of this study was to compare attention in the evening (22:00 h), in the late night (04:00 h), in the morning (10:00 h) and in the afternoon (16:00 h) during a period of complete wakefulness beginning at 08:00 h with a mean daytime performance without sleep deprivation. Another purpose was to investigate sleep deprivation effects on a multi-attribute decision-making task with and without time pressure. Twelve sleep-deprived male students were compared with 12 male non-sleep-deprived students. Both groups were tested five times with an auditory attention and a symbol coding task. Significant declines (p < 0.05) in mean level of performance on the auditory attention task were found at 04:00, 10:00 and 16:00 h for subjects forced to the vigil. However, the effect of the sleep deprivation manifested itself even more in increased between-subject dispersions. There were no differences between time pressure and no time pressure on the decision-making task and no significant differences between sleep-deprived and non-sleep-deprived subjects in decision strategics. In fact, the pattern of decision strategies among the sleep-deprived subjects was more similar to a pattern of decision strategies typical for non-stressful conditions than the pattern of decision strategies among the non-sleep-deprived subjects. This result may have been due to the fact that the sleep loss acted as a dearouser. Here too, however, the variances differed significantly among sleep-deprived and non-sleep-deprived subjects, indicating that the sleep-deprived subjects were more variable in their decision strategy pattern than the control group.

Note: Article Linde L, Natl Def Res Estab, Dept Human Sci, Box 1165, S-58111 Linkoping, SWEDEN

Keyword(s): sleep-deprivation; auditory attention; time pressure and multiattribute; decision-making; individual differences; INFORMATION; TASK

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