scholarly journals Cognition and Operator Performance

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-62
Author(s):  
Jacob D. Oury ◽  
Frank E. Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Search Time ◽  
System State ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Informed Decisions ◽  
Detection Of Signals

AbstractDeveloping systems that foster situation awareness in operators requires that stakeholders can make informed decisions about the design. These decisions must account for the operator’s underlying cognitive processes based on perception, comprehension, and projection of the system state. This chapter reviews the core cognitive processes responsible for monitoring and responding to changes in system state. Operators must perceive information before they can act in response, and the interface design affects operator accuracy and speed via known mechanisms (i.e., effects of color on visual search time). Perception of key information also relies on how the operator thinks during tasks, and certain design choices can support better attention control and detection of signals. After perceiving the information, operators also must comprehend and interpret the information. Design guidance and factors related to supporting comprehension are presented alongside explanations of how cognitive load and working memory affect the operator’s ability to develop and maintain a useful mental model of the system. This review of cognitive mechanisms gives designers a strong foundation to make informed decisions ranging from choosing an alarm color to assessing how much information should be on screen at once.

scholarly journals Experimental Tests for Measuring Individual Attentional Characteristics in Songbirds

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2233
Author(s):  
Loïc Pougnault ◽  
Hugo Cousillas ◽  
Christine Heyraud ◽  
Ludwig Huber ◽  
Martine Hausberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
European Starling ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
The Core ◽  
Cognitive Studies ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Species Specific

Attention is defined as the ability to process selectively one aspect of the environment over others and is at the core of all cognitive processes such as learning, memorization, and categorization. Thus, evaluating and comparing attentional characteristics between individuals and according to situations is an important aspect of cognitive studies. Recent studies showed the interest of analyzing spontaneous attention in standardized situations, but data are still scarce, especially for songbirds. The present study adapted three tests of attention (towards visual non-social, visual social, and auditory stimuli) as tools for future comparative research in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), a species that is well known to present individual variations in social learning or engagement. Our results reveal that attentional characteristics (glances versus gazes) vary according to the stimulus broadcasted: more gazes towards unusual visual stimuli and species-specific auditory stimuli and more glances towards species-specific visual stimuli and hetero-specific auditory stimuli. This study revealing individual variations shows that these tests constitute a very useful and easy-to-use tool for evaluating spontaneous individual attentional characteristics and their modulation by a variety of factors. Our results also indicate that attentional skills are not a uniform concept and depend upon the modality and the stimulus type.

scholarly journals Improving Human Ground Control Performance in Unmanned Aerial Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Marianna Di Gregorio ◽  
Marco Romano ◽  
Monica Sebillo ◽  
Giuliana Vitiello ◽  
Angela Vozella
Keyword(s):  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Human Machine Interface ◽  
Ground Control ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Ground Control Station ◽  
Machine Interface ◽  
Team Situation Awareness ◽  
Aerial Systems

The use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, commonly called drones, is growing enormously today. Applications that can benefit from the use of fleets of drones and a related human–machine interface are emerging to ensure better performance and reliability. In particular, a fleet of drones can become a valuable tool for monitoring a wide area and transmitting relevant information to the ground control station. We present a human–machine interface for a Ground Control Station used to remotely operate a fleet of drones, in a collaborative setting, by a team of multiple operators. In such a collaborative setting, a major interface design challenge has been to maximize the Team Situation Awareness, shifting the focus from the individual operator to the entire group decision-makers. We were especially interested in testing the hypothesis that shared displays may improve the team situation awareness and hence the overall performance. The experimental study we present shows that there is no difference in performance between shared and non-shared displays. However, in trials when unexpected events occurred, teams using shared displays-maintained good performance whereas in teams using non-shared displays performance reduced. In particular, in case of unexpected situations, operators are able to safely bring more drones home, maintaining a higher level of team situational awareness.

scholarly journals Effects of Visual Complexity Levels and Information Decluttering Methods for Cockpit Displays on Human Search Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-100
Author(s):  
Sung Ho Kim ◽  
Ji Hwan Lee ◽  
Donggun Park ◽  
Yushin Lee ◽  
Myung Hwan Yun
Keyword(s):  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Visual Complexity ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Search Performance ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
Cockpit Displays ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

Clutter problem of modern cockpit displays can occur frequently due to a large amount of information. So, decluttering less important information is required to minimize search time to find target information and prevent human error in interpreting display information. This study is to compare human search performance by visual complexity levels and decluttering methods of cockpit displays. Visual complexity of cockpit displays was designed to be three levels (High, medium, and low) by combining four design variables (number of stimuli, number of colors, number of icons, and variance of divisions) affecting visual complexity. A threat scoring equation was developed to determine what information to be decluttered and four decluttering methods (removal, dimming, dotting, and small sizing) were used to figure out how to declutter the information effectively. Human search performance was measured through search time of visual search task in terms of speed and number of hits of signal detection task in terms of accuracy. The main effect of visual complexity levels and the interaction effect were not significant in both search time and number of hits. Meanwhile, the main effect of decluttering methods was significant in search time. Especially, dotting was the most effective decluttering method in terms of speed and accuracy of human perception performance. The results of this study can be applied to information processing of cockpit displays and then contribute to improve pilot situation awareness.

Cognitive Reflection Task and Stumpers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Ross ◽  
Frédéric Vallée-Tourangeau
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Shed Light

There is a type of riddle that Bar-Hillel, Noah and Frederick (2018) call “stumpers”. A stumper is a riddle which is initially intractable because the mental model or representation of the situation described in the riddle does not contain the vital information which is required to solve it. The Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT; Frederick, 2005) on the other hand relies on seemingly completely different cognitive processes. However, exploratory work from Bar-Hillel et al. (2019) suggests that success on stumpers correlates with performance on the CRT. This finding may shed light on the cognitive processes underlying both the resolution of stumpers and the CRT. We replicated the work from Bar-Hillel et al. (2019) suggesting a relationship between performance on the CRT and performance on stumpers as well as extending this to show a relationship between performance on the CRT-v. This may point to the underexplored importance of suppression in solving stumpers and traditional riddles.

Creativity from paradoxical experience: a theory of how individuals achieve creativity while adopting paradoxical frames

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goran Calic ◽  
Sebastien Hélie ◽  
Nick Bontis ◽  
Elaine Mosakowski
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Benefit ◽  
Paradox Theory ◽  
Stored Information ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeExtant paradox theory suggests that adopting paradoxical frames, which are mental templates adopted by individuals in order to embrace contradictions, will result in superior firm performance. Superior performance is achieved through learning and creativity, fostering flexibility and resilience and unleashing human capital. The creativity mechanism of paradox theory is limited by a few propositions and a rough underlying theoretical logic. Using the extant theoretical base as a platform, the paper aims to develop a more powerful theory using a computational simulation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies on a psychologically realistic computer simulation. Using a simulation to generate ideas from stored information, one can model and manipulate the parameters that have been shown to mediate the relationship between paradoxes and creative output – defined as the number of creative ideas generated.FindingsSimulation results suggest that the relationship between paradoxical frames and creative output is non-monotonic – contrary to previous studies. Indeed, findings suggest that paradoxical frames can reduce, rather than enhance, creative output, in at least some cases.Originality/valueAn important benefit of adopting paradoxical frames is their capacity to increase creative output. This assumption is challenging to test, because one cannot measure private cognitive processes related to knowledge creation. However, they can be simulated. This allows for the extension of current theory. This new theory depicts a more complete relationship between paradoxical frames and creativity by accounting for subjective differences in how paradoxical frames are experienced along two cognitive mechanisms – differentiation and integration.

Level of Automation Forms a Key Aspect of Autonomy Design

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mica R. Endsley
Keyword(s):  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Level Of Automation ◽  
Out Of The Loop ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Levels Of Automation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

The concept of different levels of automation (LOAs) has been pervasive in the automation literature since its introduction by Sheridan and Verplanck. LOA taxonomies have been very useful in guiding understanding of how automation affects human cognition and performance, with several practical and theoretical benefits. Over the past several decades a wide body of research has been conducted on the impact of various LOAs on human performance, workload, and situation awareness (SA). LOA has a significant effect on operator SA and level of engagement that helps to ameliorate out-of-the-loop performance problems. Together with other aspects of system design, including adaptive automation, granularity of control, and automation interface design, LOA is a fundamental design characteristic that determines the ability of operators to provide effective oversight and interaction with system autonomy. LOA research provides a solid foundation for guiding the creation of effective human–automation interaction, which is critical for the wide range of autonomous and semiautonomous systems currently being developed across many industries.

scholarly journals Should I stay or should I go? Evidence accumulation drives decision making in human drivers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkady Zgonnikov ◽  
David Abbink ◽  
Gustav Markkula
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Naturalistic Decision Making ◽  
Dynamic Constraints ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Out Of Sample

Laboratory studies of abstract, highly controlled tasks point towards noisy evidence accumulation as a key mechanism governing decision making. Yet it is unclear whether the cognitive processes implicated in simple, isolated decisions in the lab are as paramount to decisions that are ingrained in more complex behaviors, such as driving. Here we aim to address the gap between modern cognitive models of decision making and studies of naturalistic decision making in drivers, which so far have provided only limited insight into the underlying cognitive processes. We investigate drivers' decision making during unprotected left turns, and model the cognitive process driving these decisions. Our model builds on the classical drift-diffusion model, and emphasizes, first, the drift rate linked to the relevant perceptual quantities dynamically sampled from the environment, and, second, collapsing decision boundaries reflecting the dynamic constraints imposed on the decision maker’s response by the environment. We show that the model explains the observed decision outcomes and response times, as well as substantial individual differences in those. Through cross-validation, we demonstrate that the model not only explains the data, but also generalizes to out-of-sample conditions, effectively providing a way to predict human drivers’ behavior in real time. Our results reveal the cognitive mechanisms of gap acceptance decisions in human drivers, and exemplify how simple cognitive process models can help us to understand human behavior in complex real-world tasks.

scholarly journals Anger Effects on Driver Situation Awareness and Driving Performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myounghoon Jeon ◽  
Bruce N. Walker ◽  
Thomas M. Gable
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Driving Performance ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Neutral State ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Neutral Affect ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Emotional Effects

Research has suggested that emotional states have critical effects on various cognitive processes, which are important components of situation awareness (Endsley, 1995b). Evidence from driving studies has also emphasized the importance of driver situation awareness for performance and safety. However, to date, little research has investigated the relationship between emotional effects and driver situation awareness. In our experiment, 30 undergraduates drove in a simulator after induction of either anger or neutral affect. Results showed that an induced angry state can degrade driver situation awareness as well as driving performance as compared to a neutral state. However, the angry state did not have an impact on participants' subjective judgment or perceived workload, which might imply that the effects of anger occurred below their level of conscious awareness. One of the reasons participants showed a lack of compensation for their deficits in performance might be that they were not aware of severe impacts of emotional effects on driving performance.

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