Day 46 of 150 Speed Difficulty 4/10
The PVT detects sleep loss in a 10-minute reaction-time task
Quick answer
The PVT detects sleep loss in a 10-minute reaction-time task. Today's question (Psychomotor vigilance test) asks about a finding from Dinges, D. F., & Powell, J. W. in 1985. The correct option is Acute and chronic sleep deprivation — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
The 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) of Dinges & Powell (1985) measures sustained-attention lapses and is highly sensitive to:
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: B — Acute and chronic sleep deprivation
Participants press a key when a counter starts incrementing on screen. The interval is randomised between two and ten seconds; the test runs ten minutes. Lapse rate (RTs > 500 ms) climbs steeply with each hour of sleep loss, doubles after 24 hours of wakefulness, and shows linear cumulative effects under chronic partial sleep restriction. The PVT has minimal aptitude and learning effects, making it the workhorse of sleep-research labs, transportation safety boards, and military operational-readiness testing.
About the source
Dinges, D. F., & Powell, J. W. (1985). Microcomputer analyses of performance on a portable, simple visual RT task during sustained operations. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 17(6), 652–655.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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