Detection and Discrimination of Auditory Alerts in Single- and Dual-Task Conditions: Use of a Free-Response Method

The results establish "proof of concept" regarding our approach to evaluating detection and discrimination of auditory alerts within a situationally realistic vigilance paradigm. The findings reveal the advantages of employing a Theory of Signal Detection (TSD)-based free-response paradigm to evaluate human performance in such a setting. In addition, the results highlight the potential advantages of employing alerts tailored to the specific spectral profile of the ambient acoustic environment. Overall, our findings can be applied to enhance both the performance and evaluation of practitioners who must respond appropriately to critical alerts in high-consequence settings. The potential enhancements extend beyond military applications, for example, to situations in which clinicians must monitor multiple metrics of patient status in environments with potentially distracting auditory and visual information.