Cognition and Perception Commons^™

Quantitative Analysis Of A Single Operator’S Flight Behavior In Simulation, Zackrey Schraeder

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), or more commonly known as drones, have become increasingly used for a variety of applications, and more research has emerged studying the human-machine interaction and pilot performance metrics. Current research focuses on desired behaviors or aggregated pilot data which does not provide a holistic picture of an individual pilot’s flight behaviors, which are shaped by their own experience, preferences, and risk tolerance. The study investigates whether an individual pilot’s flight behaviors can be considered a pattern or if there is enough flight-to-flight variability to consider the behaviors inconsistent. A series of 20 flights were conducted in …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Human-Ai Interaction Through Animated Shapes, Kavya Dipen Shah, Angel Hinojosa, Caroline Deck

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

As technology becomes more advanced, it is important to understand how people perceive the intentions and abilities of machines. This project, conducted in the InTeRACT Lab, explores how we attribute humanlike qualities to different types of agents, ranging from animals to robots. The study analyzes data from an experiment where participants watched animations of moving triangles. Although the videos were identical, participants were told the shapes represented either humans, robots, dogs, or inanimate objects. While previous math-based data showed that these labels changed how people felt, those structured scales didn't allow for a natural, unbiased explanation of what people actually …

Social Attributions Of Moving Shapes: Comparing Qualitative Analyses Of Humans Vs. Ai, Angel Hinojosa

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

As technology becomes more intelligent, the relationship between humans and machines is rapidly shifting. Whether a machine is perceived as a capable partner or a source of wariness often depends on the intentions and abilities, we attribute to it. My research in the InTeRACT Lab seeks to empirically assess these perceptions by comparing how we view different nonhuman agents, ranging from animals to robots.   This study analyzes qualitative data from a task where participants viewed animations of moving triangles. While the videos remained the same, participants were told the shapes represented either humans, robots, dogs, or inanimate shapes. Previous quantitative …

Stress-Triggered Automation Reliance, Jazmin Elek

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Automation is widely used in complex systems and includes any process that replaces human motor, sensory, or cognitive functions with machines or computers (Norman, 1996). As automation becomes more common, understanding how humans trust and interact with these systems is critical. Trust can be measured by whether users override automation or blindly follow its prompts (Norman, 1996).   Artificial intelligence (AI) introduces additional complexity by enabling systems to learn patterns from data it generates. AI performs tasks with the ability to learn from experience (NASA, 2024). AI builds internal databases that can mimic human-like responses (Norman, 1996). However, AI systems can …

The Effect Of Snris On Pilot Reaction Time In Simulated Flight, Isabella Owen, Aidan Roach, Micah Henry, Casey Tressler

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Many aviators who are prescribed serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) to treat mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder must halt their duties for a set amount of time. This is due to aviation authorities having data that suggests SNRIs and SSRIs lead to inhibitions in mental processes that can cause crashes or death. Most of the research that has been conducted examined the effects of SSRIs on individuals without mental health disorders in non-flight settings. This study will explore the effect SNRIs have on …

Effects Of Sleep Duration And Perceived Stress Of Reaction Time In Undergraduate Students, Caitlin Wescott, Edna Urrutia, Ryan F. Rednick, David Still

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Sleep deprivation and psychological stress are common among undergraduate students and can negatively affect cognitive performance. Reaction time is an important indicator of attention and processing speed and plays a critical role in both everyday activities, such as driving, and high-performance environments where rapid responses are required. This study aims to examine how sleep duration and perceived stress levels influence reaction time in undergraduate students. Participants will report their sleep duration and perceived stress levels through short surveys and wearable sleep data, while reaction time will be measured using a standardized computerized reaction time test. By comparing reaction time across …

Improving Urban Search And Rescue Team Coordination Through Adaptive Context Awareness, Daniel Reyes Duran

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Modern multi-agent Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations heavily rely on mobile geospatial Common Operating Pictures (COPs) to maintain team coordination and Situational Awareness (SA). However, the proliferation of high-frequency sensor telemetry at the tactical edge has introduced a data saturation paradox challenge: while information theoretically drives informed decision-making, unmanaged data surges induce increased operator cognitive overload and alert fatigue on mobile End-User Devices (EUDs), while downstream data-broadcasting models inherently strain edge processing and viewport environments.

To resolve these constraints, this dissertation presents a context-aware Value of Information (VoI) data-management framework integrated directly with a custom, event-driven Android Team Awareness …

On The Provenance Of Software Systems: Automating Software Traceability With Knowledge Graph And Large Language Model Synergy, Tyler Procko

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The present dissertation delineates a system that enables those engaged in software development to automatically generate and maintain project life cycle provenance. All projects are implemented and made manifest with the development of artifacts, e.g., papers, code files, etc. Tools exist to accelerate artifact creation, but little focus is paid to the processes that produce them. In terms of Ontology, or, from Ancient Greek, the study of being, the two most basic entities in reality are Continuant and Occurrent, or, roughly, “Artifact” and “Process”. This dissertation posits that for any created artifact, its process of creation, i.e., its life …

Mini-Maps, Crucial Or Controversial: Assessing The Influence Of Perceived Spatial Orientation And Cognitive Mapping Performance On Video Game User Experience, Angela Le

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Decades of game studies, also known as video games research, have revealed frequent video gameplay is positively correlated with enhanced cognition. An area of study that is limited, however, is the relationship between spatial cognition, specifically the domains of spatial orientation and cognitive mapping and their effects on video game user experience for games employing visual navigational aids. Video game user experience is influenced by many factors such as graphics and audio, gameplay mechanics, user interface design, etc. The present study aims to explore whether spatial abilities influence and are significantly correlated with user experience for games using heads-up displays …

The Effect Of Need For Cognition & Need For Affect On Human Reliance And Artificial Intelligence Interactions, Aliyah Mcgowan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Abstract

With the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) automations in fields like medical diagnoses and mental health queries, there are concerns regarding an individual’s trust and reliance on the technology. Reliance on AI output may lead an individual to accept inaccurate or incorrect information without further analysis. Trust may influence reliance and trust formation may be a product of affective processing. This study investigated the relationship between Need for Affect (NFA), Need for Cognition (NFC), and trust and reliance on AI interactions. Participants were assessed on the NFA scale for willingness to approach or avoid emotional stimuli, the NFC …

The Effects Of Perfume On Work Performance, Tian Soon Choo, Hiral Bharatbhai Variya

Introduction to Research Methods RSCH 202

This study investigates how fragrance could affect staff efficiency at work in the service industry, particularly insurance agents. Scent is recognised to affect human behavior and perception; nevertheless, the majority of study to date has overlooked scent's possible impact on job performance in favor of focusing on its relationship to confidence and beauty. We will explore whether wearing perfume improves work performance through a panel study with 100 insurance agents. Performance is gauged by the number of policies sold and the amount of premium generated. Our study proposes to investigate the potential significant impact of perfume, both positive and negative, …

Assessing Unstabilized Approaches: A Phenomenology Study Of The Risk Perceptions And Decision-Making Thought Process Of General Aviation Pilots., Shlok Misra, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D., Victor Fraticelli Rivera

Publications

The Federal Aviation Administration emphasized the need to focus on and develop human factors training as early as 1993 in official Human Factors Policy Order 9550.8. The purpose of this study was to conduct a detailed qualitative phenomenological analysis of the risk perceptions and decision-making model of collegiate aviation pilots for unstabilized approaches. The study focused on understanding how collegiate aviation pilots perceive unstable approaches, the risk associated with unstable approaches, and the factors that trigger pilots to execute a go-around. The International Air Transportation Association warns that continuing an unstabilized approach can lead to runway excursions, hard landings causing …

Primacy And Recency Effects On Position Error In Short-Term Memory Recall, Weerachet Sinlapanuntakul, Kelly Harris, Brittany S. Wesley

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

Position error is the most common error in serial recall of short-term memory, especially when environment, language, or similarity factors are presented. Previous studies demonstrate some support for the serial recall resulting in less error-prone for the first and last positions than the middle positions. This study investigates the accuracy of recalling letters and their positions when given a random sequence with minimal to no external factors. The significant predictors influencing position error were the primacy and recency effects. Participants completed a 20-trial experiment on the CogLab Experimental Control Software, which presented a series of letters one at a time …

Integrating The First Person View And The Third Person View Using A Connected Vr-Mr System For Pilot Training, Chang-Geun Oh, Kwanghee Lee, Myunghoon Oh

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Virtual reality (VR)-based flight simulator provides pilots the enhanced reality from the first-person view. Mixed reality (MR) technology generates effective 3D graphics. The users who wear the MR headset can walk around the 3D graphics to see all its 360 degrees of vertical and horizontal aspects maintaining the consciousness of real space. A VR flight simulator and an MR application were connected to create the capability of both first-person view and third-person view for a comprehensive pilot training system. This system provided users the capability to monitor the aircraft progress along the planned path from the third-person view as well …

Psychological Contract Perception And Contractual Employee Performance, Robin Roberts, Stephanie Douglas Ph.D.

Publications

Contractual, short‐term employees are increasingly utilized to support organizational performance. The employee's perception of the psychological contract were explored in this qualitative study through semi‐structured interviews of 22 contractual workers. Psychological contract was fulfilled through transactional job tasks and psychological contract breaches were found in relationships with leadership and the organization. An exploratory examination from the contractual worker lens helped to influence the psychological contract on the employee performance and its use in leveraging this workforce to improve organizational performance.

China’S “Three Warfares”: People’S Liberation Army Influence Operations, Edwin S. Cochran, U.S. Department Of Defense, Retired

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The following article—whose author is both a retired US Army officer and retired Department of Defense civilian employee with multiple publications—focuses on Chinese information operations. Readers might wish to speculate on matters such as why the Chinese have organized the way they have, whether the organization leads to optimal integration of tools of national security/political power, and how vulnerable specific populations and even intelligence cultures are to specific types of information operations. One might even conclude that the only thing that has not changed in thousands of years has been the technology available to influence others.

This article examines the …

Longitudinal Applications Of Stepladder Technique For Enhancing Group Performance, Conner Lutterman

Discovery Day - Prescott

Stepladder technique is intended to improve decision making in small groups by structuring the entry of group members, ensuring that each member contributes to the decision-making process. Previous research has employed the stepladder technique for intellective exercises of short duration. Here, we examined a more realistic application of the stepladder technique to a longitudinal project team engaged in a design/build/ test engineering program. Application of stepladder technique beyond a laboratory/one-time setting is a unique addition to the team performance research. Preliminary data indicates that the stepladder technique is effective in a longitudinal project more aligned to typical organization applications; constraints, …

Adversity: Its Affect On The Resilience Of Female Pilots, Linda M. Pittenger D.Mgt., Stephanie Douglas Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Women are one of the solutions to alleviating the pending pilot shortage. Becoming a pilot needs to appeal to women. Resilience plays an important role in determining whether women in male-dominated career fields will pursue or abandon their careers. The pilot profession is dominated by masculine beliefs, values and perceptions creating an organizational culture adverse and challenging to women.

The study objective was to explore the influence of adversity on female pilots and its effect on resiliency. In our sample of 1,499 female pilots, we found lower resiliency levels as compared to a general U.S. sample. Additionally, statistically significant differences …

Discrete Information Object Analysis Of Primary Flight Display Clutter, Kenneth Ward

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Modern aircraft utilize digital display screens to provide critical flight and system status information to pilots. As computing power has increased, the number of data sources and information presented has also increased, with the goal of increasing situational awareness. However, the display can become cluttered with extraneous or irrelevant information, to the detriment of pilot cognitive workload. Pilot perceptions of clutter vary with flight experience, introducing unique considerations in the flight training environment, given the experience difference between instructors and students. Researchers have studied the problem, identifying both the number of visual objects and information density as predictors of perception …

Examining The Different Learning Strategies Between Extroverts And Introverts Among Flight Students At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, John R. Brooks

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Extroverts and introverts have unique approaches to new materials that make learning more efficient. In fields like aviation, where quick learning and responses are required, students struggle because preferred comprehension strategies are not utilized. The research question is whether introverts/extroverts learn better when given the option to approach materials using strategies that match their personality type. A total of twenty-four participants from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Flight Program will be chosen and placed into one of two different groups (extrovert/introvert) using a median split. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised (EPQ-R) will determine personality trait (introvert or extrovert). All participants …

Comparing The Distraction Of Cell Phone Conversations To In-Person Conversations On A Simulated Commercial Flight, Tianhua Li, Andrew R. Dattel

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The purpose of the study was to determine the difference in participants’ attention to announcements and compliance with safety behaviors when talking on a cell phone and when talking face-to-face in a simulated commercial flight. Currently, passengers are forbidden from making cell phone calls during flights in the United States due to electronic interference. However, any possible interference can be eliminated with the help of new technology. Although talking on the cell phone does not cause electronic interference, the distraction of a passenger caused by a cell phone may negatively impact safety. This study compared the extent of safety compliance …

Flight Simulator Fidelity, Training Transfer, And The Role Of Instructors In Optimizing Learning, Paul L. Myers Iii, Arnold W. Starr, Kadie Mullins

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Simulators have been integrated into flight training at various levels for decades, increasing in utility as they increased in fidelity. Today, practically all levels of qualification in passenger-carrying commercial airliners can be obtained entirely in the simulator, with the first experience in the aircraft on a revenue-producing flight. Flight training in the U.S. is a tightly controlled, highly regulated process overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It is also a very successful one; commercial aviation maintains a remarkable safety record. To that end, pilot training has been studied and analyzed extensively over the years, and as to the focus …

Review Of Training Principles For Flight Training In Aircraft Or Simulator, Stefan Kleinke

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

In human-performance-driven fields such as the social and behavioral sciences and education, there is a particular risk for a disconnect between current research and applied practice. Often, new findings require policy changes and workforce re-education before being applied in a meaningful way. Therefore, a continuous need for practitioner professional development and continuation training exists to ensure informed practices. This presentation is motivated by these needs and aims to help flight training professionals to make informed decisions when designing and conducting flight training events. Based on a conceptual framework of cognitive and behavioral theories in learning, a variety of common training …

Sms Derived Vs. Public Perceived Risk In Aviation Technology Acceptance (Literature Review), Paul L. Myers Iii

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Aviation technology progressed from the first airplane flight to landing on the moon in just 63 years with continued progress today. Thus, organizations like commercial airlines and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) that use a Safety Management System (SMS) are periodically implementing technology changes. Typically, two different processes are used to derive SMS and public perceived risk. Disparity between the two processes coupled with dissimilar influencing factors has, at times, frequently slowed or halted technology implementation. Understanding both processes and influencing factors using a literature review allows for a more proactive approach in implementing technology, aids in gauging …

A Validation Of The Efficacy Of Descriptive Instrumental Collective Case Study Research Methodology For Examining Pilot Cognitive Functioning, Clint R. Balog

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The research conducted developed a descriptive understanding of how the cognitive processes of risk assessment, problem solving, and decision making, as well as other supportive processes, are employed by pilots-in-command (PICs) during the experience of extended, extreme, in-flight emergencies. This understanding is then applied to similar dynamic, operational environments. The research also validated the applicability and efficacy of Robert Stake’s 1995 descriptive, instrumental, collective case study methodology as a tool for investigating such phenomenon and developing such an understanding. Specifically, the research details the necessary procedures for employing this methodology successfully, and provides example of those procedures, and their results, …

User Interface Design Recommendations For Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Suas), Camilo Jimenez, Caitlin L. Faerevaag, Florian Jentsch

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The number of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has dramatically increased in recent years. As a consequence, the number of incidents involving manned and unmanned aircraft has soared. For this reason, the Federal Aviation Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking to delineate the operational limitations for sUAS. Many efforts have been introduced to regulate the operations of these systems and educate operators. Despite these efforts, there are no clear standards related to the type of information that should be available to operators, or how this information should be conveyed during flight operations. For this reason we present a …

How Trust Influences Adoption: Creating Human-Centered Autonomous Vehicles, David R. Garcia

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.

Does The Redundant Signals Effect Occur With Categorical Signals?, Ada D. Mishler, Mark B. Neider

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

The redundant signals effect (RSE) refers to a decrease in response time (RT) when multiple signals are present compared to when one signal is present. The RSE is widespread when responses are made to specific signals; for example, a participant who is asked to respond to the letter “N” will respond more quickly to two “Ns” than to one “N.” The current research was conducted to determine whether or not the RSE generalizes to categorical signals. In Experiment 1, participants pressed a button when they saw any number on a computer screen. Each trial contained two stimuli subtending 1º visual …

Social Facilitation And Its Effects On The Errors Of Commission In A Vigilance Task, Sean P. Bowser, Cristina A. Chirino, James L. Szalma

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Vigilance is known as sustained attention over a prolonged period of time in which respondents are required to respond to critical signals. Vigilance is crucial in a variety of settings and situations. However, when placed on a simple and repetitive task, such as security detail scanning bags or watching a radar in an airport control tower, performance on these vigilance tends to decline with time spent performing the task continuously. This pattern is referred to as the vigilance decrement. In addition to the decrement, errors of commission, or “false alarms”, occur more frequently as time on task increases. In the …

Event-Related Desynchronization Of The Mu-Rhythm: A Literature Review, Katy Lynn Odette

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.