1999 Volume 49 Issue 6 Pages 356-364
The relationship between skill learning, work duration, and workload is analyzed using a visual search task. The subject's task was to search for the same two-digit number on the panel as the one presented on the computer screen, and type in one of the four numbers attached to the target on the panel using a keyboard. The number to search and the location of attached number to answer were shown 5 seconds after the previous response. The task was repeated for 30 minutes without a rest, and the 30-minute trial block was repeated three times, with a short break for a Flicker Test and for filling up subjective scales. An analysis of reaction time for each subject showed how the learning process progressed and when it stopped. An increase in work strain was shown by CFF values and subejctive rating scales for fatigue. Subjective mental workload measured with NASA-TLX decreased once, and then increased along with the learning process, while subjective indices of physical/mental fatigue monotonously increased as a function of work duration.
