Generalizing Advantages: How Vigilance Can Improve Visual Processing Speed and Attentional Process – An Eye-Tracking Study

Sustained attention, also known as vigilance, is a fundamental cognitive function that enables individuals to maintain their focus and optimize performance in demanding environments. While traditional vigilance research has emphasized performance decline under cognitive load, this study investigates whether vigilance actively facilitates adaptive attentional control and enhances visual processing speed. We employed a within-subjects design (N = 30) that combined a rapid vigilance task with the computational framework of the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA), while continuously monitoring oculomotor dynamics using high-resolution eye-tracking. Empirical results demonstrated a significant dual-task advantage: vigilance not only improved letter identification accuracy at longer display times (p ≤ 0.005) but also produced universally faster reaction times (p < 0.001). Contrary to classical interference models, vigilance was associated with optimized attentional resource allocation, supporting the notion that increased attentional demand can refine cognitive control. Information entropy analysis further revealed a systematic reduction in behavioral variability across eye movements and reaction times, indicating a shift toward more constrained and efficient cognitive processing patterns. Crucially, machine learning and individual adaptation signature analysis uncovered substantial heterogeneity, classifying participants into distinct resilience types, from "High Adapters" to "Challenged Adapters". Baseline processing efficiency and cognitive reserve emerged as key predictors of adaptation success, underscoring the importance of personalized cognitive profiles in explaining vigilance outcomes. Collectively, these findings advance theoretical models by reframing vigilance as a dynamic, adaptive control mechanism that actively restructures temporal processing and visual search strategies. This work highlights the interdependence of vigilance, visual processing speed, and attentional strategy, providing a vital framework for developing personalized cognitive training interventions in clinical and high-stakes operational domains.