Weconducted two studies using amodified sustained attention to response task (SART) to investigate the developmental
process of SART performance and the role of cognitive load on performance when the speed-accuracy
trade-off is controlled experimentally. In study 1, 23 participants completed the modified SART (target stimuli
location was not predictable) and a subjective thought content questionnaire 4 times over the span of
4 weeks. As predicted, the influence of speed-accuracy trade-off was significantly mitigated on the modified
SART by having target stimuli occur in unpredictable locations. In study 2, 21 of the 23 participants completed
an abridged version of the modified SART with a verbal free-recall memory task. Participants performed
significantly worsewhen completing the verbalmemory task and SART concurrently. Overall, the results support
a resource theory perspective with concern to errors being a result of limited mental resources and not simply
mindlessness per se.