Norman H. "Mack" Mackworth (1917–2005) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and cognitive scientist known for his pioneering work in the study of

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occu ...

attention Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...

, and

vigilance Vigilance may refer to: * Alertness * Vigilance, a creature ability in the ''Magic: The Gathering'' collectible card game * ''Vigilance'' (album), by Threat Signal * Vigilance (behavioural ecology), the watchfulness of prey for nearby predator ...

; the

Mackworth Clock {{Short description, Experimental device The Mackworth Clock is an experimental device used in the field of experimental psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and t ...

test has been used since the 1940s in the study of vigilance. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Mackworth was recruited by the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

to study the efficiency of

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

operators - after only 30 minutes the operators lost about 10 to 15 percent of their efficiency. His findings resulted in the length of operator duty shifts being severely reduced. In 1951, Mackworth became head of the

Unit for Research in Applied Psychology The Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit is a branch of the UK Medical Research Council, based in Cambridge, England. The CBSU is a centre for cognitive neuroscience, with a mission to improve human health by understanding and enhancing cognition ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he remained until emigrating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1958.History of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
at

References

External links

Visual Acuity When Eyes Are Pursuing Moving Targets
at ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, by Norman H. Mackworth and Ira T. Kaplan (1962) 1917 births 2005 deaths Attention 20th-century British psychologists {{UK-psychologist-stub