FEAST Attention and Multitasking 2

Question 1

You are monitoring a frequency where six aircraft are active.
Aircraft identifiers are: KLM712, BAW92, UAL5, EZY441, RYR88, DLH56.
After five minutes, you are asked which aircraft called last.
The skill being tested is:

Accepted Answer

Sustained attention and sequential memory for radio communications

Answer

Spatial reasoning about aircraft positions

Answer

Numerical estimation of call frequency

Answer

Processing speed for communication handoffs

Question 2

A controller is scanning a radar display with 10 tracks. They must detect any aircraft that deviates more than 200 ft from its cleared altitude. This task primarily assesses:

Accepted Answer

Sustained attention and vigilance for change detection

Answer

Spatial orientation and 3D reasoning

Answer

Working memory for numerical calculations

Answer

Processing speed under time pressure

Question 3

A candidate is given two tasks simultaneously: tracking numbers on a screen and responding to audio tones. Performance on both tasks is measured. This type of test assesses:

Accepted Answer

Divided attention — the ability to monitor and respond to two independent streams concurrently

Answer

Selective attention — filtering relevant signals from noise

Answer

Focused attention — concentrating on a single demanding task

Answer

Alternating attention — switching between tasks sequentially

Question 4

Over a 20-minute monitoring period, an aircraft that should be stationary on the radar begins slowly drifting. A controller who detects this drift early demonstrates:

Accepted Answer

High vigilance — detecting a subtle change against a stable background over time

Answer

Good spatial reasoning — calculating the drift angle and speed

Answer

Fast processing speed — quickly identifying the position change

Answer

Accurate working memory — comparing current position to a memorised position

Question 5

A controller must simultaneously track aircraft callsigns, their current altitudes, cleared altitudes, and heading instructions. The mental resource most stressed by this task is:

Accepted Answer

Working memory capacity — holding and updating multiple information elements

Answer

Long-term memory — recalling procedures from training

Answer

Spatial memory — mapping aircraft positions

Answer

Procedural memory — executing automated motor routines

Question 6

During a simulated ATC task, a candidate is given a primary radar-monitoring task plus a secondary arithmetic task. Their performance on the radar task is measured with and without the arithmetic task running. The purpose of this dual-task design is to:

Accepted Answer

Measure the cost of the secondary task on primary task performance — revealing attentional spare capacity

Answer

Assess arithmetic ability under the pressure of a distracting task

Answer

Test whether candidates can prioritise safety tasks over administrative ones

Answer

Evaluate how quickly candidates switch between two completely unrelated tasks