Attention and automation: New perspectives on mental underload and performance

There is considerable evidence in the ergonomics literature that automation can significantly reduce operator mental workload. Furthermore, reducing mental workload is not necessarily a good thing, particularly in cases where the level is already manageable. This raises the issue of mental underload, which can be at least as detrimental to performance as overload. However, although it is widely recognized that mental underload is detrimental to performance, there are very few attempts to explain why this may be the case. It is argued in this paper that, until the need for a human operator is completely eliminated, automation has psychological implications relevant in both theoretical and applied domains. The present paper reviews theories of attention, as well as the literature on mental workload and automation, to synthesize a new explanation for the effects of mental underload on performance. Malleable attentional resources theory proposes that attentional capacity shrinks to accommodate reductions in mental workload, and that this shrinkage is responsible for the underload effect. The theory is discussed with respect to the applied implications for ergonomics research.     

Consideration of several mental workload categories: perspectives for elaboration of new ergonomic recommendations concerning shiftwork

In this article, a reflection is presented concerning consideration of several mental workloads in ergonomics to describe work situation. For that, results of three experiments are recalled and put into perspective to understand relationships between mental workload and performance, and between different measures of mental workload. A integrative model IWA for individual – mental workload – activity is presented to explain interactions between task parameters, individual characteristics and contextual characteristics showing relevance to consider all the elements of a work situation to can estimate the more correctly possible mental workload supported by operator. Then, discussion on relevance of mental workload measures permits to highlight the lack of exhaustive measures of different components of mental workload. Finally, methodological propositions with a diagnostic or prognostic approach are presented in order to consider all elements described in model IWA.     

Neuroergonomics: Opportunities and challenges of merging cognitive neuroscience with cognitive ergonomics

As with any merger of previously unrelated scientific disciplines, the usefulness of combining cognitive neuroscience and cognitive ergonomics to create the new field of 'neuroergonomics' depends on the significance of the research subjects that could not be addressed if the two fields remained separated. Situations characterized by a scarcity of overt operator behaviour and performance represent one driving force for combining the two fields. In those situations, neurobiological indices of cognitive processes and capacities may emerge as the main, or even exclusive, source of information about the operator's cognitive status and activities. This information is needed, for example, to support adaptive aiding and dynamic function allocation in the context of human-automation cooperation. The utilization of research approaches and measurements more typical of cognitive neuroscience will benefit the field of cognitive ergonomics to the extent that multidimensional psychological constructs (such as situation awareness and mental workload) are reduced to their underlying cognitive operations which are more isomorphic with activity changes in brain regions, circuits and distributed neuronal systems. The transformation of these constructs and paradigms will, in turn, enable cognitive ergonomics to contribute to progress in the field of cognitive neuroscience.     

Monitoring drivers’ mental workload in driving simulators using physiological measures

Many traffic accidents are caused by, or at least related to, inadequate mental workload, when it is either too low (vigilance) or too high (stress). Creating variations in mental workload and accident-prone driving for research purposes is difficult in the real world. In driving simulators the measurement of driver mental workload is relatively easily conducted by means of physiological measures, although good research skills are required and it is time-consuming. The fact that modern driving simulator environments are laboratory-equivalent nowadays allows full control with respect to environmental conditions, scenarios and stimuli, and enables physiological measurement of parameters of mental workload such as heart rate and brain activity. Several examples are presented to illustrate the potential of modern high-standard driving simulator environments regarding the monitoring of drivers’ mental workload during task performance.     

Changes in stress and subjective workload over time following a workload transition

Workload transitions present individuals with sudden changes in workload. These transitions may affect stress and coping behaviour. Two experiments were performed using a digit detection task that shifted between low and high workload levels to examine transition effects on performance, stress, and effort. The first experiment used a large magnitude transition and resulted in decreased estimates of task engagement and effort. Over time, the levels of subjective stress observed in the transitioned groups approached those of the non-transitioned control groups. The second experiment used a transition more moderate in magnitude. The results were similar to those from the first experiment except that the transition resulted in higher, sustained task engagement and effort. These findings indicate that over time, the perceived stress of transitioned individuals will approach those of non-transitioned individuals; however, the magnitude of the transition may influence individuals to either increase or decrease task-oriented, effortful coping.

Relevance to human factors/ergonomics theory

Previous research on the effect of workload transitions on experienced stress has produced conflicting results. Drawing upon transactional stress theory and motivational intensity theory, two experiments were conducted which resolve some of those conflicting findings. This research adds to our understanding of how workload transitions may affect individuals' experienced stress.     

Ergonomics and praxiology

This paper presents the conceptual foundations of ergonomics and praxiology and the relations between the two disciplines. The influence of the systemic formulation on the change of approach in ergonomics from the earlier mechanistic approach to work and mutual relations between a working human and a machine is pointed out. Also characterized is praxiological analysis and its consequences for ergonomic design. The last part of the paper raises the issue of the importance of design in a praxiological approach and the role of ergonomics and praxiology in developing modern design culture.     

Engaging the human operator: a review of the theoretical support for the vigilance decrement and a discussion of practical applications

Abstract

Vigilance, or the ability to sustain attention for extended periods of time, has been of interest to the human factors and ergonomics community for 70 years. During this time, several theories have attempted to account for the performance effects commonly associated with vigilance (i.e. the decrement, which manifests in fewer correct detections and longer response times to targets over time). We provide a cohesive review of the current empirical support for the three major theories explaining the vigilance decrement and describe the limitations of each theory herein. The three overarching theories of vigilance performance and the vigilance decrement include: cognitive resource theory, mindlessness theory and mind-wandering theory. Importantly, each of these theories relies on unique definitions of task engagement to understand operator overload or underload. The differences in the operationalisation of task engagement are problematic in the application of vigilance research to the real world. In this article, we describe the utility of a unified definition of task engagement and demonstrate how resource theory is better poised to account for cognitive task engagement than physical task engagement, which is emphasised in other theories.     

Cognitive processes in system design

Design has a major function in the ergonomics study of the human/technology relationship. It contains all of the psychological elements found in other behavioural phenomena, but has, in addition, an unique attribute, which is the need to transform principles and data from the behavioural domain to physical mechanisms which serve as behavioural surrogates. This requirement has both theoretical and practical consequences for human factors ergonomics (HFE).     

Automation cueing modulates cerebral blood flow and vigilance in a simulated air traffic control task

Automation cueing of impending hazards or critical signals can have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the human operator, depending on automation reliability. To assess these effects, transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD), a low-cost non-invasive procedure that allows continuous monitoring of blood flow in the left and right cerebral hemispheres, was used to examine the influence of automation cues of varying reliability on vigilance performance in a 40-min simulated air traffic control task. Four levels of automation cue reliability (100, 80 and 40% reliable cueing and a no-cue control) were combined factorially with two levels of critical signal salience (high and low). For both levels of signal salience, the detection rate of critical signals was very high and remained stable over time with 100% cue-reliability, but declined over time in the remaining cue conditions, so that, by the end of the task, performance efficiency was best in the 100% condition followed in order by the 80%, 40%, and no-cue conditions. These performance effects for cueing were very closely mirrored by changes in cerebral blood flow in the right (but not the left) hemisphere in conjunction with low salience signals. The results fit well with an attentional resource model of vigilance and show that cerebral blood flow provides a metabolic index of the utilization of information-processing resources during sustained attention. The demonstration of systematic modulation of cerebral blood flow with time on task, automation cueing and signal salience also provides strong evidence for a right hemispheric brain system that is involved in the functional control of vigilance performance over time. Measurement of the activation of this system, as a reflection of operator mental workload, can, therefore, inform the design of optimal automation cueing.     

Physical neuroergonomics: The human brain in control of physical work activities

One of the important functions of the human brain is voluntary control of movements and motor activities combined with perceptual, cognitive and affective processes. This paper introduces the emerging field of study, named hereby as physical neuroergonomics, that focuses on the knowledge of human brain activities in relation to the control and design of physical tasks. Motor, cognitive and emotional aspects and their inter-relationships in connection to physical ergonomics are considered. A review of recent advances in functional electroencephalography (EEG), with special accent on the time domain analyses of the human brain activity in selected motor tasks, is also presented. The reported studies of isometric elbow-flexion contractions confirmed that the cerebral-cortex system controls the extent of muscle activation and is responsible for smoothing out high-speed motor control processes. Furthermore, the emotional attitudes of the subject to the activity can compel performance beyond acceptable loading through psychological pressure or necessity. The discussed results are important to one's understanding of human limitations and capabilities on a variety of physical tasks, and may ultimately help explain the mechanisms of musculoskeletal injuries at work. These results also underscore the need for a novel approach to workplace studies, i.e. neuroergonomics design.     

Theoretical issues in physical ergonomics

There is a seemingly perennial debate in the literature about the relative merits of using a secondary task as a measure of spare attentional capacity. One of the main drawbacks is that it could adversely affect the primary task, or other measures of mental workload. The present experiment therefore addressed an important methodological issue for the dual-task experimental approach–that of secondary task interference. The current experiment recorded data in both single- and dual-task scenarios to ascertain the level of secondary task interference in the Southampton Driving Simulator. The results indicated that a spatial secondary task did not have a detrimental effect on driving performance, although it consistently inflated subjective mental workload ratings. However, the latter effect was so consistent across all conditions that it was not considered to pose a problem. General issues of experimental design, as well as wider implications of the findings for multiple resources theory, are discussed.     

Notes for Contributors /

Abstract

The aim of this study was to depict a framework for development of integrated intelligent human engineering environment in complex critical systems. Conventional health, safety and environment (HSE) are a widely used approach to enhance reliability and safety of complex systems. The integrated health, safety, environment and ergonomics management system (HSEE‐MS) is defined however as integration of conventional HSE with ergonomics.

To show the need for and superiority of HSEE over conventional HSE, a gas treatment company in Iran was studied. Evaluation of ergonomics was carried out by 195 male employees responding to questionnaires.

The integrated HSEE system introduces a unique, effective and systemic mechanism, which integrates the structure of the human and organizational systems with a conventional HSE system. It is utilized to enhance reliability, availability, maintainability and safety through the proposed integrated framework of this study.     

How to keep drivers engaged while supervising driving automation? A literature survey and categorisation of six solution areas

Abstract

This work aimed to organise recommendations for keeping people engaged during human supervision of driving automation, encouraging a safe and acceptable introduction of automated driving systems. First, heuristic knowledge of human factors, ergonomics, and psychological theory was used to propose solution areas to human supervisory control problems of sustained attention. Driving and non-driving research examples were drawn to substantiate the solution areas. Automotive manufacturers might (1) avoid this supervisory role altogether, (2) reduce it in objective ways or (3) alter its subjective experiences, (4) utilize conditioning learning principles such as with gamification and/or selection/training techniques, (5) support internal driver cognitive processes and mental models and/or (6) leverage externally situated information regarding relations between the driver, the driving task, and the driving environment. Second, a cross-domain literature survey of influential human-automation interaction research was conducted for how to keep engagement/attention in supervisory control. The solution areas (via numeric theme codes) were found to be reliably applied from independent rater categorisations of research recommendations. Areas (5) and (6) were addressed by around 70% or more of the studies, areas (2) and (4) in around 50% of the studies, and areas (3) and (1) in less than around 20% and 5%, respectively. The present contribution offers a guiding organisational framework towards improving human attention while supervising driving automation.     

Personality trait theory and multitasking performance: implications for ergonomic design

Although system designers usually minimise the role of individual differences in operation, personality variables could explain differences in multitasking performance. A concomitant theoretical issue is whether primary or surface personality traits do a better job of predicting performance than the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or global traits. A sample of 174 undergraduates completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), which was followed by a performance task. A computer-based task that measured simultaneous performance on an arithmetic task and a mental rotation task was used to measure multitasking performance; scores measured the percent accuracy. Primary traits for low emotional sensitivity and high abstractedness, self-control, and general reasoning were all correlated with performance (R ² = .11), but global or traits corresponding to the FFM were not, except in one sporadic task trial. There was also a strong gender effect on performance. Implications for the study of personality traits in ergonomics are discussed.     

Theoretical issues in general and developmental ergonomics

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a number of critical theoretical issues which revolve around the relationship of the human with technology. This has two aspects: (1) the human response to already developed technology (general ergonomics); and (2) the application of ergonomics principles and data to system design (developmental ergonomics). Ergonomics research which does not focus on the human/technology relationship has little to offer ergonomics. That research must also be directed to the problem of transforming behavioural principles into their physical equivalents.     

基于脑力负荷的通航飞机座舱显示界面测评研究

在飞行过程中,飞行员需从座舱显示界面获取和处理很多视觉信息，大量的视觉信息会使飞行员脑力负荷过高，从而易导致飞行事故。为降低飞行员在飞行过程中的脑力负荷和提高飞行的安全性，需判断通航飞机座舱显示界面对飞行员脑力负荷的影响，并为通航飞机座舱显示界面优化设计提供依据。以塞斯纳172SP飞机为例，综合应用主观评价法、绩效评估法和生理测量法，对五边飞行过程中飞行员的脑力负荷进行评估。综合主观评分、飞行绩效、脑电（Electroencephalogram, EEG）指标、眼动指标的分析结果，得出了五边飞行不同飞行阶段的脑力负荷大小排序。采用眼动追踪技术对不同飞行阶段飞行员所关注的界面信息进行定位，确定飞机座舱显示界面上对脑力负荷影响较大的注视热区。结果显示飞行员在平飞阶段的脑力负荷较低，降落阶段的脑力负荷较高；显示界面侧滑指示器对脑力负荷的影响最大。综上可知结合脑力负荷测量和眼动指标可以有效地评价通航飞机座舱显示界面的性能。     

The 'ergonomics paradigm': Foundations,challenges and future directions

The challenges confronting the multi-disciplinary human factors and ergonomics profession are rapidly growing as the pace of technological change redefines the way in which people interact with each other at work and at play. Areas such as human-computer interaction, cognitive ergonomics and information technology management are booming. Calls for greater influence on designing for teams and other large groups of people, i.e. macroergonomics are growing rapidly. All the while, physical ergonomics (e.g. occupational biomechanics, manual materials handling) continues to be a strong focus in the US and around the world. To keep pace with these challenges, each human factors professional should understand the history of the field, remember the complexity of the 'user' and be able to see how their efforts unify and expand the ergonomics discipline. This paper reviews the development of the ergonomics paradigm, explores the challenges confronting the ergonomics discipline and presents ways in which those challenges may be addressed using methodologies familiar to human factors practitioners and researchers.     

Neuroergonomics: Research and practice

This article describes the characteristics and scope of neuroergonomics, defined as the study of brain and behaviour at work. Neuroergonomics focuses on investigations of the neural bases of mental functions and physical performance in relation to technology, work, leisure, transportation, health care and other settings in the real world. The two major goals of neuroergonomics are to use knowledge of brain function and human performance to design technologies and work environments for safer and more efficient operation, and to advance understanding of brain function underlying real-world human performance. The conceptual, theoretical and philosophical issues at the core of neuroergonomics--that lie at the confluence of cognitive science, neuroscience, and ergonomics--are discussed. Adaptive human-machine systems are then described as an illustration of neuroergonomic research. Several other examples of neuroergonomic research and practice are also described.     

Catastrophe models for cognitive workload and fatigue

We reconceptualised several problems concerning the measurement of cognitive workload – fixed versus variable limits on channel capacity, work volume versus time pressure, adaptive strategies, resources demanded by tasks when performed simultaneously, and unclear distinctions between workload and fatigue effects – as two cusp catastrophe models: buckling stress resulting from acute workload, and fatigue resulting from extended engagement. Experimental participants completed a task that was intensive on non-verbal episodic memory and had an automatically speeded component. For buckling stress, the epoch of maximum (speeded) performance was the asymmetry parameter; however, anxiety did not contribute to bifurcation as expected. For fatigue, the bifurcation factor was the total work accomplished, and arithmetic, a compensatory ability, was the asymmetry parameter; R ² for the cusp models outperformed the linear comparison models in both cases. A research programme is outlined that revolves around the two models with different types of task and resource configurations.