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ERIC Number: EJ1340186
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2365-7464
EISSN: N/A
Conscientiousness Protects Visual Search Performance from the Impact of Fatigue
Grady, Justin N.; Cox, Patrick H.; Nag, Samoni; Mitroff, Stephen R.
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, v7 Article 56 2022
Visual search--looking for targets among distractors--underlies many critical professions (e.g., radiology, aviation security) that demand optimal performance. As such, it is important to identify, understand, and ameliorate negative factors such as fatigue--mental and/or physical tiredness that leads to diminished function. One way to reduce the detrimental effects is to minimize fatigue itself (e.g., scheduled breaks, adjusting pre-shift behaviors), but this is not always possible or sufficient. The current study explored whether some individuals are less susceptible to the impact of fatigue than others; specifically, if conscientiousness, the ability to control impulses and plan, moderates fatigue's impact. Participants (N = 374) self-reported their energy (i.e., the inverse of fatigue) and conscientiousness levels and completed a search task. Self-report measures were gathered prior to completing the search task as part of a large set of surveys so that participants could not anticipate any particular research question. Preregistered linear mixed-effect analyses revealed main effects of energy level (lower state energy related to lower accuracy) and conscientiousness (more trait conscientiousness related to higher accuracy), and, critically, a significant interaction between energy level and conscientiousness. A follow-up analysis, that was designed to illustrate the nature of the primary result, divided participants into above- vs. below-median conscientiousness groups and revealed a significant negative relationship between energy level and accuracy for the below median, but not above-median, group. The results raise intriguing operational possibilities for visual search professions, with the most direct implication being the incorporation of conscientiousness measures to personnel selection processes.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: US Army Research Office (ARO); US Army Research Laboratory (ARL)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: W911NF1610274; W911NF1920260; W911NF2120179