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Selective attention skills of experienced sonar operators
L L Merrill1, L J Lewandowski, D A Kobus
1Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92186-5122.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|June 1, 1994
Summary
Sonar experience does not appear to enhance selective attention skills. Even experienced sonar operators showed no significant improvements in general attention tasks like the Stroop test.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Factors Engineering
- Military Science
Background:
- Selective attention is crucial for complex tasks like sonar operation.
- It is hypothesized that extensive sonar experience may lead to superior attentional skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sonar training and experience enhance selective attention.
- To determine if attentional skills developed in sonar operation generalize to other cognitive tasks.
Main Methods:
- The Stroop task was administered to experienced and inexperienced sonar operators.
- Two independent samples (n=32 and n=36) participated across four test sessions.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found between experienced and inexperienced operators in Stroop task speed or accuracy.
- The results indicate that sonar experience did not confer superior general selective attention abilities.
Conclusions:
- Sonar operators do not develop extraordinary attentional skills through experience.
- Attentional skills acquired during sonar operation do not appear to generalize to dissimilar cognitive tasks like the Stroop test.