Attention exercise · ~2 min a run · free
Sustained Attention
Catch the rare double jump on the clock.
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Sustained attention, or vigilance, is the ability to stay alert for rare events over time. A hand steps around a clock face one mark at a time. Now and then it jumps two marks at once; press the moment it does.
About this test
About this test
What this test measures
This measures vigilance and sustained concentration: holding focus on a monotonous task and catching rare events. Long cruise monitoring is exactly this, staying sharp when little is happening.
How to improve your score
- Expect the rare signal and keep actively looking, passivity is the enemy of vigilance.
- Use a steady internal rhythm to stay engaged through the dull stretches.
- Build endurance gradually, lengthen practice sessions to train staying power.
Good to know
Good to know
Confirm each step as it happens
Rather than watching passively and waiting for something unusual, actively confirm each normal step as it occurs by registering 'one mark' to yourself. This ongoing mental tally keeps your attention engaged during the long stretches of normal steps rather than letting it drift. When the double jump happens, it breaks the expected rhythm and the interruption registers immediately, even if you were not consciously braced for it.What good looks like
A strong 90-second run catches 90 percent or more of the double jumps with very few false presses. The difficulty is that the signal is genuinely rare, so a long gap can quietly pull your attention into a passive state before the next signal arrives. Sustained alertness for infrequent but critical events is exactly the vigilance demanded during long cruising phases, where your workload is low but a missed alert can have serious consequences.
Frequently asked questions
What is a vigilance task?
What is a vigilance task?
A test of staying alert for infrequent signals over a sustained period. Attention research has used this kind of long, monotonous monitoring task, the Mackworth clock among them, to measure how quickly vigilance drops away.
How is it scored?
How is it scored?
By detection accuracy: the double steps you catch in time, balanced against misses and false alarms, so pressing at random will not score well.
Why does it matter for pilots?
Why does it matter for pilots?
Long, quiet phases of flight still demand alertness for the occasional important change. Vigilance is exactly that ability.
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