Abstract
Effects of physical effort have been difficult to find in attention tasks for various reasons, such as the activating effect of the laboratory situation or the spare capacity in automated tasks. Instead, a double task, reflecting quantitatively the changes of information processing, is proposed. Thirty minutes after a paced circuit training, a visual-auditory task was presented for 40 min: tachistoscopically presented dot patterns together with high and low tones. This was done at an easy pace, leaving it up to the subject to decide what to reproduce, as in normal circumstances. No effect was found in the total correct scores or in the auditory task. Deterioration was found only in the more difficult part of the visual task. The results can be explained in terms of Kahneman’s variable-allocation capacity model. This method seems promising for separating effects on different stages of information processing.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Reference Note
Posner, M. I., & Keele, S. W. Time and space as measures of mental operations. Invited address (Division 3) presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Miami Beach, Florida, September 1970.
References
Blitz, P. S., Janssen, C. G. C., & Sijbling, G. [The influence of physical exercise and amphetamine on cognitive functions] (in Dutch). Geneeskunde en Sport, 1973,4, 33–36.
Broadbent, D. S. Decision and stress. New York: Academic Press, 1971.
Carmichael, L., & Dearborn, W. F. Reading and visual fatigue. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1972. (Originally published, 1947.)
Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1972,11,671–684.
Kahneman, D. Attention and effort. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
Lorinstein, B., & Haber, N. Perceived numerosity: An information processing analysis. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1975, 29, 224–236.
NÄÄtÄnen, R. The inverted-U relationship between activation and performance: A critical review. In S. Kornblum (Ed.), Attention and performance IV. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
Sanders, A. F. [The psychology of information processing] (in Dutch). Arnhem, The Netherlands: Van Loghum Slaterus, 1967.
Sperling, G. The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological Monographs, 1960,74,1–29.
Woodworth, R. S., & Schlosberg, H. Experimental psychology. New York: Holt, 1954.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The second author is supported as a research assistant by the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vervaeck, K., Deboeck, M., Hueting, J. et al. Traces of fatigue in an attention dual task. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 19, 151–154 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330216
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330216