Continuous vs. Partial Knowledge of Results in Training for Vigilance

Several experiments on training for vigilance have reported that training with feedback in the form of knowledge of results (KR) enhances performance efficiency. Research in motor skills has shown that training with a partial-KR regimen (KR provided only during some portions of training) is more effective than training with a continuous-KR regimen. The goal for the present study was to determine if this partial-KR training effect also extends to vigilance performance. Positive predictive power (PPP), a decision theory measure (Elwood, 1993), was used to assess performance accuracy; Craig's (1978) response-to-signal ratio was used to evaluate response bias. Observers trained with both forms of KR were more conservative (lower response-to-signal ratios) in responding, and more accurate when they did respond (higher PPP scores), than those who did not receive KR training. The response-to-signal ratios and the PPP scores of observers in the two KR conditions did not differ significantly from one another. Hence, the partial-KR superiority effect observed with motor tasks may not extend to vigilance tasks.