Human Factors Psychology Commons^™

Effects Of Control Device And Task Complexity On Performance And Task Shedding During A Robotic Arm Task, Shelby K. Long

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The use of robotic arms across domains is increasing, but the relationship between control features and performance is not fully understood. The goal of this research was to investigate the difference in task performance when using two different control devices at high and low task complexities when participants can shed tasks to automation. In this experiment, 40 undergraduates (24 females) used two control devices, a Leap Motion controller and an Xbox controller, to teleoperate a robotic arm in a high or low complexity peg placement task. Simultaneously, participants were tasked with scanning images for tanks. During the experiment, participants had …

Workload Transitions And Stress: Changes Over Time, Erik G. Prytz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Workload transitions are situations where operators are suddenly confronted with levels of workload substantially different from previously established levels. Workload transitions may affect the operators' state of stress and coping behaviors but previous research has not conclusively demonstrated the nature of those. The first goal of the current work was to investigate the discrepant findings of the previous literature. Two experiments were conducted where participants were asked to perform a digit detection task that suddenly shifted between low and high event rates (i.e., low and high workload, respectively). The first experiment used a large magnitude transition that resulted in a …

The Role Of Trust As A Mediator Between System Characteristics And Response Behaviors, Eric T. Chancey

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

There have been several theoretical frameworks that acknowledge trust as a prime mediator between system characteristics and automation reliance. Some researchers have operationally defined trust as the behavior exhibited. Other researchers have suggested that although trust may guide operator response behaviors, trust does not completely determine the behavior and advocate the use of subjective measures of trust. Recently, several studies accounting for temporal precedence failed to confirm that trust mediated the relationship between system characteristics and response behavior. The purpose of the current work was to clarify the roles that trust plays in response behavior when interacting with a signaling …

Effects Of Signal Ambiguity And Signal Location On Target Detection Under Varying Degrees Of Time Constraint, Kimberly E. Culley

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of decision-making strategies and tendencies, time constraint, and signal characteristics on decision-making performance utilizing the fuzzy signal detection theory framework. Participants were tasked with deciding whether x-ray images of passenger luggage contained hazardous objects.

The first objective of the study was to develop a methodology for quantifying optimizing versus satisficing tendencies in decision making through direct measurement and observation.

The second objective of the study was to examine how time constraint and specific signal characteristics contribute to decision making. Interestingly, despite having more time available to conduct a comprehensive …

The Effect Of Improvisations And Observations On Standardized Patient Encounters, Subjective Workload And Stress, Elizabeth T. Newlin-Canzone

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Standardized patients (SPs) are people trained to present a medical case for teaching and assessing medical students and they simultaneously perform several demanding tasks including portraying the patient, assessing the learner, and providing feedback. This study investigated the effect of improvisations and multiple task performance on the ability to observe another's nonverbal (NV) behaviors and rate their communication skills. Subjective reports of mental workload and stress were also obtained. The first study involved undergraduates interviewing for a job. Type of interview (rote and improvisational) and type of observation (passive and active) were manipulated within groups. Based on theories of attention …

Comics As A Cognitive Training Medium For Expert Decision Making, Amber Nalu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Experts such as military commanders must make decisions quickly and under deadly conditions. A variety of cognitive training media exist, from Powerpoint to virtual reality (VR) simulations; however, there are alternative media that have not yet been comprehensively studied for expert decision making training. In this study, the researcher has examined the use of comics as an alternative to current cognitive training media. In Experiment 1, naval submariners were shown a text-based medium or comic strip and asked to make a decision about the scenario after viewing. The scenario was derived from a situation that submariners were somewhat familiar with …

The A-B Signal Detection Theory Model, Ernesto A. Bustamante

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was threefold: (1) Present the a-b SDT model as an alternative framework to overcome the limitations of the underlying SDT model and the traditional measures of sensitivity and criterion setting, (2) Provide empirical support to validate the adequacy of the a-b SDT model, and (3) Conduct a Monte Carlo Study to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of both the traditional and the a-b SDT models across the full spectrum of response values with the goal of providing researchers and practitioners with recommendations regarding the adequacy of each model. The results from this research …

Pilot Performance And Eye Movement Activity With Varying Levels Of Display Integration In A Synthetic Vision Cockpit, Julie Michele Stark

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of display integration in a simulated commercial aircraft cockpit equipped with a synthetic vision display. Combinations of display integration level (low/high), display view (synthetic vision view/traditional display), and workload (low/high) were presented to each participant. Sixteen commercial pilots flew multiple approaches under IMC conditions in a moderate fidelity fixed-base part-task simulator. Pilot performance data, visual activity, mental workload, and self-report situation awareness were measured.

Congruent with the Proximity Compatibility Principle, the more integrated display facilitated superior performance on integrative tasks (lateral and vertical path maintenance), whereas a less …

Communicating With Graphic User Interfaces: A Comparison Of Menu Selection And Menu Bypass Techniques, Monty Lee Hammontree

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study was conducted in two phases to determine design tradeoffs relating to command bar menu and bypass code-based techniques for interacting with computers. Forty eight subjects participated. In the first phase of the experiment, mouse-, chorded key-, and function key-based menu selection techniques were compared. It was found that menus were accessed much faster with spatially mapped function keys as compared to chorded key sequences or mouse inputs, and that relative to mouse inputs compatible letter keys lead to faster command selection times. Further, the function key-based technique yielded the fastest combined access and selection times, the fastest …

Validation Of The Human Factors Satisfaction Questionnaire, James Carlopio

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In order to predict behavior in organizations, it is important to understand and to consider both the individual employee and his/her interaction with the physical work environment. The main purpose of this research was to gather evidence of the validity of the Human Factors Satisfaction Questionnaire (HFSQ) in order to provide a tool with which employees' preceptions of several elements of their physical work environments can be measured. The physical work environment and its relationship to both organization theory and motivation theory is discussed. Evidence of the construct validity of the HFSQ was sought through the administration of the HFSQ …

Hemispheric Effects Of Response Hand And Concurrent Auditory And Visual Information Processing On Task Performance, Paula J. Guerette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Previous research (cf. Wickens, Mountford & Schreiner, 1981; Wickens & Sandry, 1982) has suggested that performance is facilitated by maintaining "integrity" between the hemisphere of information input, processing, and motor response. This task-hemispheric integrity has been found to exist during concurrent performance of verbal and spatial tasks, both of which are presented in a visual modality. The present study sought to examine whether task-hemispheric integrity exists during concurrent performance of a verbal and a spatial task when the verbal task is presented in an auditory modality and the spatial task(s) are presented in a visual modality. Fifty-six individuals (28M, 28F) …

Natural Language Human-Computer Dialogue: Menu-Based Natural Language And Visual Performance, Jeffrey John Hendrickson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study was conducted to determine design principles for menu-based natural language (MBNL) interfaces and to provide evidence for the nature of visual search processes with menu-based systems. The effects of window size, window activity, and query length were investigated. Window size was manipulated as a between-subjects variable with three levels representing a sixteen-item window size, an eight-item window size, and a four-item window size. Window activity was manipulated as a within-subjects variable with two levels representing single active and multiple active windows. Query length was manipulated as a within-subjects variable with three levels representing one-, two-, and three-item …

The Development Of A Paper-And-Pencil Measure Of Complex Cognitive-Perceptual Aptitude, Don Michael Mcanulty

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The primary purpose of the present research was a develop a complex aptitude test to assess individual differences in multiple cognitive and perceptual abilities that are required for helicopter pilot training. The paper-and-pencil test was designed to provide measures of both static and dynamic (i.e., learning) ability under different levels of complexity. The secondary research purpose was to develop a battery of eight psychometric tests to assess other abilities that are required for helicopter pilot training. Test prototypes were produced and administered to small samples of subjects. The tests were then revised into an experimental battery that required approximately 7 …

An Error-Dependent Model Of Instrument-Scanning Behavior In Commercial Airline Pilots, Dennis H. Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Since the work of Fitts and his colleagues, researchers have been using eye-movement data to evaluate various aspects of pilot instrument scanning behavior. Although Senders' work indicated that link values and transitional probabilities could be accurately predicted using a random sampling process, several investigators have recently suggested that pilot scanning behavior was deterministic. However, there has been no clear empirical evidence to support a deterministic hypothesis. The present research presents a new flexible model of pilot instrument scanning behavior which assumes that the pilot uses a set of deterministic scanning patterns on (1) the pilot's perception of error in the …

Improving The Accuracy Of Performance Evaluations: A Comparison Of Three Methods Of Performance Appraiser Training, Jerry Willard Hedge

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Researchers in the area of rater training have relied almost exclusively on rater error measures to assess training effectiveness. A reduction in rater tendency to commit these errors subsequent to training is viewed as evidence that these raters have become more accurate in rating their employees. This assumed relationship between rater errors and rating accuracy has recently been questioned. This uncertain relationship between psychometric errors and accuracy was the focus of the current research effort. Supervisory personnel were trained under one of three training programs (psychometric error training, observation training, or decision-making training). Halo, leniency, range restriction and accuracy measures …