Cognitive Aspects and Behavioral Effects of Transitions Between Levels of Automation

Abstract : This report results from a contract tasking University of Rome 'La Sapienza' as follows: The Grantee investigated the relation between scan path (ocular activity) and mental workload on the basis of the consideration that high workload should produce fixations grouping (because the operator needs to focus on some specific feature of the interface/task) whereas low workload should be associated with regular patterns, indicating a regular check of the interface space. According to this hypothesis, indexes providing information about the dispersion of point patterns should indicate regularity in the case of low workload and grouping in the case of high workload. The results suggest that nearest neighbor index used here is sensitive for investigating the processes underlying shifts in the level of automation, and their consequences on operator performance. On the costs of switching between levels of automation (LOA), a simple visuo-motor task employed in this study suggests that switching LOA affected individual's performance because of the cost associated with engagement/disengagement process. These findings suggest that when individuals perform a task, their cognitive systems are set to a particular level and no costs are observed until the level (or rule) is changed. Under some circumstances the results suggest that no shift can even lead to a better performance.

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