Development of a neuroergonomic application to evaluate arousal

We developed and tested a neuroergonomic smartphone application called Mind Metrics that can be used to evaluate vigilance and working memory under naturalistic conditions. The application met a requirement to the field of neuroergonomics because the cognitive tasks were made for a smartphone platform, allowing the ability to make predictions about the neural processes that impact human performance during naturalistic work related activities (i.e. ubiquitous computing). However, if naturalistic tasks are to be developed that are sensitive to cognitive processes, these tasks must be tested and evaluated for validity by comparing performance to data obtained in controlled laboratory environments. In this study, we developed tasks that measure working memory and vigilance, two processes that are well known to affect human performance at work. We then tested participants on these tasks using both a smartphone and a desktop computer platform. The tasks we used to measure vigilance included a vigilance task called the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) and a vigilance task called the Spatial Discrimination Vigilance Task (SDVT). To measure working memory, we used a Color N-back Task (CNB) and a Spatial N-back Task (SNB). Using a mixed group design, participants were assigned to a desktop or smartphone condition and completed all four tasks. As predicted, there was a vigilance decrement for both the PVT and the SDVT, which was demonstrated by an overall slowing of responses as the tasks progressed. This decrement occurred for both the smartphone and the