Attentional lapses are reduced by repeated stimuli having own-name during a monotonous task

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of listening to self-relevant words (i.e., one’s own name) on vigilant attention, arousal, and subjective sleepiness during performance of a psychomotor vigilance test (PVT). Twenty-one participants aged 20–26 years (22.2 ± 1.76) performed a PVT in four experimental conditions: one in which their own full name was pronounced every 20 s in the stimuli epochs, one in which their full name was pronounced in inverted form, one in which beeps were played, and a control condition with no stimuli. Listening to personal names reduced attentional lapses during the PVT (i.e., the number of reaction times no less than 500 ms). The results are a first step in applying the name effect to technologies and devices aimed at maintaining arousal levels and preventing accidents during a monotonous task, such as driving.