Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cusp Catastrophe Models For Cognitive Workload And Fatigue In Teams, Stephen J. Guastello, Anthony N. Correro, David E. C. Marra

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The use of two cusp catastrophe models has been effective for untangling the effects of cognitive workload, fatigue, and other complications on the performance of individuals. This study is the first to use the two models to separate workload and fatigue effects on team performance. In an experiment involving an emergency response simulation, 360 undergraduates were organized into 44 teams. Workload was varied by team size, number of opponents, and time pressure. The cusp models for workload and fatigue were more accurate for describing trends in team performance criteria compared to linear alternatives. Individual differences in elasticity-rigidity were less important …