Task Engagement, Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity, and Diagnostic Monitoring for Sustained Attention Gerald Matthews University of Cincinnati Joel S. Warm Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Lauren E. Reinerman-Jones University of Central Florida Lisa K. Langheim University of Cincinnati David A. Washburn Georgia State University Lloyd Tripp Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Loss of vigilance may lead to impaired performance in various applied settings including military operations, transportation, and industrial inspection. Individuals differ considerably in sustained atten- tion, but individual differences in vigilance have proven to be hard to predict. The dependence of vigilance on workload factors is consistent with a resource model of sustained attention. Thus, measures of attentional resource availability may predict the operator’s subsequent vigilance performance. In this study, we investigated whether a diagnostic battery of measures of response to a cognitive challenge would predict subsequent sustained attention. Measures that may relate to the mobilization of resources in response to task demands include subjective task engagement and coping, and a novel psychophys- iological index, cerebral bloodflow velocity (CBFV). A two-phase design was used. First, participants were exposed to a challenging battery of short tasks that elevated CBFV. Second, participants performed a 36-min vigilance task. Two subgroups of participants performed either a sensory vigilance (N = 187) or a cognitive vigilance (N = 107) task. Measures of task engagement, coping, and CBFV response to the short task battery were compared as predictors of subsequent vigilance. Both subjective and CBFV indices of energization predicted sensory and cognitive vigilance, consistent with resource theory. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a latent factor model of influences on sustained attention. It is concluded that measures of resources, conceptualized as multiple energization processes, are potentially useful for diagnostic monitoring in applied settings. Use of a diagnostic task battery in military and transportation settings is discussed, along with some potential limitations on validity of the diagnostic test. Keywords: task engagement, energy, attention, cerebral bloodflow, vigilance Vigilance, or sustained attention, is a crucial aspect of human performance. In both laboratory and operational settings, detec- tions of critical signals often decline over time (the “vigilance decrement”; Warm et al., 2008). Such losses in alertness may compromise operator effectiveness (Molloy & Parasuraman, 1996). In some operational tasks, such as military surveillance, industrial inspection, and screening baggage at airports, sustained monitoring is central to performance (e.g., Hancock & Hart, 2002; McBride, Merullo, Johnson, Banderet, & Robinson, 2007; Poul- ton, 1973). In other, more complex tasks, including air-traffic control, nuclear power plant regulation, and long-distance driving (e.g., Hagemann & Weber, 2003; Hwang et al., 2009; Schmidt et al., 2009), vigilance may influence operational performance in conjunction with other factors. Gerald Matthews, Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati; Joel S. Warm, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Lauren E. Reinerman-Jones, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida; Lisa K. Langheim, Department of Psychol- ogy, University of Cincinnati; David A. Washburn, Department of Psy- chology, Georgia State University; Lloyd Tripp, Air Force Research Lab- oratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This work was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command under Contract No. W23RYX-3106-N605. The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy, or decision unless so designated by other doc- umentation. In the conduct of research where humans are the subjects, the investigator(s) adhered to the policies regarding the protection of human subjects as prescribed by 45 CFR 46 and 32 CFR 219 (Protection of Human Subjects). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gerald Matthews, Department of Psychology, 429 Dyer Hall, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0376. E-mail: gerald.matthews@ uc.edu Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied © 2010 American Psychological Association 2010, Vol. 16, No. 2, 187–203 1076-898X/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0019572 187 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.