The role of sleep deprivation and fatigue in the perception of task difficulty and use of heuristics
Objectives: This study investigated the effects of sleep deprivation on perception of task difficulty and use of heuristics (mental shortcuts) compared to naturally-experienced sleep at home. Methods: Undergraduate students were screened and assigned through block-random a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
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| Series: | Sleep Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://sleepscience.org.br/export-pdf/450/v11n2a05.pdf |
| Summary: | Objectives: This study investigated the effects of sleep deprivation on perception of task
difficulty and use of heuristics (mental shortcuts) compared to
naturally-experienced sleep at home. Methods: Undergraduate
students were screened and assigned through block-random assignment to
Naturally-Experienced Sleep (NES; n=19) or Total Sleep
Deprivation (TSD; n=20). The next morning, reported fatigue,
perception of task difficulty, and use of “what-is-beautiful-is-good,” “greedy
algorithm,” and “speed-accuracy trade-off” heuristics were assessed.
Results: NES slept for an average of 354.74 minutes
(SD=72.84), or 5.91 hours. TSD rated a reading task as
significantly more difficult and requiring more time than NES. TSD was
significantly more likely to use the greedy algorithm heuristic by skipping
instructions and the what-is-beautiful-is-good heuristic by rating an
unattractive consumer item with a favorable review as poor quality. Those in
Total Sleep Deprivation who chose more difficult math problems made this
selection to finish the task more quickly in findings approaching significance,
indicating use of the speed-accuracy trade-off heuristic. Collapsed across
conditions, self-reported fatigue predicted greater perceived difficulty in both
the reading task and a visuo-motor task, higher quality rating for the
attractive consumer item, and lower quality rating for the unattractive consumer
item. Conclusions: Findings indicate sleep deprivation and fatigue
increase perceptions of task difficulty, promote skipping instructions, and
impair systematic evaluation of unappealing stimuli compared to
naturally-experienced sleep. |
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| ISSN: | 1984-0659 1984-0063 |