Abstract
Examining the role of individual differences, especially variations in human motivation, in vigilance tasks will result in a better understanding of sustained semantic attention and processing, which has, to date, received limited study in the literature (see Fraulini, Hancock, Neigel, Claypoole, & Szalma, 2017; Epling, Russell, & Helton, 2016; Thomson et al., 2016). This present study seeks to understand how individual differences in intrinsic motivation affect performance in a short semantic vigilance task. Performance across two conditions (lure vs. standard condition) were compared in the present study of 79 undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida. The results indicated significant main effects of intrinsic motivation on pre- and post-task stress factors, workload, and performance measures, which included correct detections, false alarms, and response time. Sensitivity and response bias, which are indices of signal detection theory, were also examined in the present study. Intrinsic motivation influenced sensitivity, but not response bias, which was affected by period on watch. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are also discussed.
Thesis Completion
2017
Semester
Fall
Thesis Chair/Advisor
Szalma, James
Co-Chair
Neigel, Alexis
Degree
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Degree Program
Psychology
Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Release Date
December 2017
Recommended Citation
Dever, Daryn A., "A Study of Semantic Processing Performance" (2017). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 245.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/245