THE EFFECT OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NEUTRAL AND CRITICAL SIGNALS UPON THE DETECTION OF SIGNALS AS A FUNCTION OF TIME

UTICAJ KARAKTERISTIKA NEUTRALNIH I KRITICNIH SIGNALA NA DETECKCIJU SIGNALA U FUNKCIJI VREMENA

This study examines the phenomenon of vigilance, or the "characteristic physiological state of the organism which occurs when certain portions of the nervous system are activated in preparation for possible reactions to unforeseen circumstances". This concept has important theoretical and practical relevance, especially in establishing the capability of the human being to control various signaling systems. Some of the theoretical aspects covered include inhibition, in which the nervous system is physiologically inhibited from responding; filter, in which the ability to accept information is conditioned by physiological limitations of the nervous system; expectation, in which the subject's behavior is conditioned by his expectation of the appearance of the signal; activation, in which the subject experiences a continuum of physiological states ranging from deep sleep to irritability; habituation, in which the response is conditioned by the repetitive nature of the presentation of the stimulus, and the theory of the detection of signals (TDS) with which the experimental portion of the study is concerned. Visual and auditory tests were carried out in order to test the main hypotheses of this theory: whether there is a deterioration of the ability to detect signals as a function of time, or whether the subject undergoes changes in his criteria for the detection of signals. The study reached the general conclusion that in both the auditory and visual experiments the sensory sensitivity or actual ability to detect signals does not deteriorate, but rather there occurs a simple change of the criteria to detect as the subject grows more and more cautious.

• Corporate Authors:

  Belgrade Univesity, Yugoslavia

  Faculty of Philosophy
  Belgrade,   Yugoslavia 
• Authors:
  • Milosevic, S
• Publication Date: 1972

Language

• Undetermined

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: 243 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Human factors; Neurology; Physiological aspects; Sensitivity; Signals; Time; Visual perception
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00072209
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transportation Systems Center
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 5 1976 12:00AM