Vigilance

Vigilance is the state of being watchful to detect danger, maintain security, or oversee operations. It is often required in jobs that involve monitoring, such as air traffic control, surveillance, and security work. Vigilance can also refer to a mental state of sustained concentration.

Overview

Vigilance is derived from the Latin word vigil, which means "watchful". The term is widely used within psychology, neuroscience, and in the military to refer to the ability to maintain attention and alertness over prolonged periods of time.

In psychology, vigilance, or sustained attention, is the ability to maintain concentrated attention over prolonged periods of time. During this time, the person attempts to detect the appearance of a particular target stimulus. The Pavlovian term for this is "maintained attention". Vigilance is particularly important in occupations such as truck driving, piloting, and related transportation jobs where safety is paramount and lapses can lead to disasters.

Vigilance in Neuroscience

In neuroscience, vigilance is the ability to sustain attention over prolonged periods. It is often measured with tasks that require the individual to detect infrequent and unpredictable events. A decline in performance on these tasks (vigilance decrement) is commonly observed over time, suggesting that sustained attention is resource-limited.

Vigilance in Military

In the military context, vigilance is defined as the soldier's or guard's ability to maintain a state of readiness and alertness in relatively static situations. This is often measured in terms of the ability to detect unexpected occurrences, such as the approach of enemy forces, and to respond appropriately.

See Also

• Attention
• Concentration
• Perception
• Situational awareness

References

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