Publication Date

4-1991

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Karlene Ball, John O’Connor, John Bruni

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

The Useful Field of View (UFOV) is the entire area in which information can be gathered without moving the head or eyes. It is generally found that the size of the UFOV shrinks with age. Additionally, research has shown that simple practice on the UFOV task can increase the size of the UFOV. However, simple practice may not be the most effective strategy for increasing the UFOV. The present study examined whether training directed toward a specific basis of UFOV loss (slower speed of processing) is more effective than simple practice at increasing field size.

Individuals received one or three types of training. Individuals who received variable duration training first performed the UFOV task at a pre-determined duration. Every time the individual obtained a field size of 30 degrees or greater across 2 consecutive blocks of trials, the duration of the visual display was decreased 25 milliseconds. Individuals who received force-drop training also initially performed the UFOV task at a pre-determined duration. On the third day of training, the duration of the visual display was decreased 25 milliseconds regardless of the individual’s performance. On the fifth day of training, the duration of the visual display was again decreased 25 milliseconds regardless of the individual’s performance. Individuals receiving constant training simply practiced the task at the pre-determined duration across all days of training.

Consistent with past research, training improved peripheral localization performance. Further, improvement in peripheral localization performance was greatest in the distractor condition among individuals receiving variable duration training. Variable duration training may be a more effective strategy for increasing the UFOV due to its challenging nature. Specifically, since the duration of the visual display is directly linked to the individual’s own performance, motivation and interest in the training task may be maintained for a longer period of time. Further, the heightened motivation and interest may facilitate a greater degree of learning in the training setting which in turn influences the amount of training that will be retained and utilized in real-world settings.

Disciplines

Cognition and Perception | Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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