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Abstract
The overarching aim of this research was to learn more about the nature, timing and causes of errors that occur in skilled, well-learned tasks. Three empirical studies were conducted in this research each with the aim to further our understanding of the role of attention during skill-based behaviour, in particular, the role of distraction as a major source of skill-based errors. In the first study, 60 participants (low and high skill) performed a primary tracking task under auditory distraction which occurred at three systematic points during task execution: at the beginning, midway through and towards the end of a trial. Results indicated that a distraction at the beginning of a trial was most disruptive to response execution and a distraction toward the end of a trial was most disruptive to subsequent response selection. Both low and high skill performers were susceptible to the negative effects of distraction at these points. These results support suggestions that attention continues to play an important role in mediating the behaviour of skilled individuals.
Using the same approach, a second study was conducting involving 100 participants to examine whether attention is allocated differently depending on the speed and accuracy with which a task is performed. The results of this study confirmed and extended the results of the first study. Specifically, the same critical points were found as in the first study which was at the beginning and towards the end of a trial. These critical points were the same for low and high skill participants and the same for the speed and accuracy group. Skill level and performance instructions influenced the amount of attention paid to the task but not where attention was allocated. A third empirical study was conducted to further our understanding of the effects of distraction timing on skill-based error. In this study, 30 student pilots performed a simulated checklist task under conditions involving frequent distractions. Results indicated that participants were more vulnerable to the negative effects of distraction when it occurred midway through a task.
Taken together, these results suggest that where attention is allocated during task performance is highly dependent on the nature of the task. The results also provide strong evidence that a level of attention or self-regulation is still involved at critical points during skilled task execution. This is contrary to the popular view that skilled performance is not subject to attentional limitations and therefore cannot be disrupted by distraction. These results have important practice and theoretical implications for our understanding of the nature, causes and timing of skill-based errors.