Individual Differences in the Stress and Workload of Sustained Attention

The effects of individual differences in dispositional pessimism and optimism, and choice of coping strategy, on performance, stress, and workload in vigilance tasks were investigated. Prior research indicated that pessimistic observers performed more poorly and experienced hgher levels of stress than optimists. In addition, coping strategies employed by observers have been linked to the stress and workload associated with a variety of tasks. To date, no one has examined the relations among these variables in regard to vigilance within one study. Pessimism and optimism were found to be unrelated to performance, but predictive of both preand post-task stress and choice of coping strategy. There was also evidence that the influence of personality on post-task stress and choice of coping strategy may be mediated by pre-task state. Personality and coping strategies also influenced perceived workload.