Searching for traffic signals while engaged in compensatory tracking

Searching for traffic signals while engaged in compensatory tracking

Noble, M.E.
Sanders, A.F.
Instituut voor Zintuigfysiologie TNO

1980

An experiment is described in which subjects were required to search for familiar traffic signals. Half the time this was done while also engaged in a manual compensatory tracking task. The experimental variables of the visual search task were color, total number of signals exposed, the number of relevant signals, and the density of the signals. The results showed performance degradation for both tasks when the visual search and the tracking tasks were performed concurrently. Examination of the main effects and interactions suggest that, except when color was a perfect cue, visual search was a sequential process. Other theoretical and practical implications are discussed. An experiment is described in which subjects were required to search for familiar traffic signals. Half the time this was done while also engaged in a manual compensatory tracking task. The experimental variables of the visual search task were color, total number of signals exposed, the number of relevant signals, and the density of the signals. The results showed performance degradation for both tasks when the visual search and the tracking tasks were performed concurrently. Examination of the main effects and interactions suggest that, except when color was a perfect cue, visual search was a sequential process. Other theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Personnel
Color
Eye tracking
Human cell
Normal human
Performance
Traffic sign
Visual search
Automobile Driving
Cues
Discrimination Learning
Human
Motor Skills
Visual Perception

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c0213c90-66e9-4029-92a5-8c72b597b459

5231

Human Factors, 22 (1), 89-102

article