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.

[1]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  Display Integration Enhances Information Sampling and Decision Making in Automated Fault Management in a Simulated Spaceflight Micro-World , 2002, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[2]  J. G. Hollands,et al.  Engineering Psychology and Human Performance , 1984 .

[3]  J. Pelz,et al.  Oculomotor behavior and perceptual strategies in complex tasks , 2001, Vision Research.

[4]  S. Monsell.  Control of mental processes , 2021, Unsolved Mysteries of the Mind.

[5]  R. Shiffrin,et al.  Controlled and automatic human information processing: I , 1977 .

[6]  M. A. Recarte,et al.  Effects of verbal and spatial-imagery tasks on eye fixations while driving. , 2000 .

[7]  David B. Kaber,et al.  Design of Automation for Telerobots and the Effect on Performance, Operator Situation Awareness, and Subjective Workload , 2000 .

[8]  Veikko Häkkinen,et al.  Implementation of Three-Dimensional EEG Brain Mapping , 1999, Comput. Biomed. Res..

[9]  C. Wickens,et al.  Visual scanning and pilot expertise: the role of attentional flexibility and mental model development. , 1997, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[10]  Walter Schneider,et al.  Controlled and Automatic Human Information Processing: 1. Detection, Search, and Attention. , 1977 .

[11]  M. Trimmel,et al.  After-effects of human-computer interaction indicated by P300 of the event-related brain potential. , 1998, Ergonomics.

[12]  A. A. Spady,et al.  Analytical techniques of pilot scanning behavior and their application , 1986 .

[13]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  Performance Consequences of Automation-Induced 'Complacency' , 1993 .

[14]  L. Kaufman,et al.  Handbook of Perception and Human Performance. Volume 2. Cognitive Processes and Performance , 1994 .

[15]  Joseph H. Goldberg,et al.  Identifying fixations and saccades in eye-tracking protocols , 2000, ETRA.

[16]  P. J. Clark,et al.  Distance to Nearest Neighbor as a Measure of Spatial Relationships in Populations , 1954 .

[17]  Glenn F. Wilson,et al.  Performance Enhancement with Real-Time Physiologically Controlled Adaptive Aiding , 2000 .

[18]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  Consequences of shifting one level of automation to another: main effects and their stability , 2005 .

[19]  G. Pfurtscheller,et al.  Brain-Computer Interfaces for Communication and Control. , 2011, Communications of the ACM.

[20]  A. Gevins,et al.  Detecting transient cognitive impairment with EEG pattern recognition methods. , 1999, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[21]  R. W. Ditchburn.  The function of small saccades , 1980, Vision Research.

[22]  M. Schmitter-Edgecombe,et al.  Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks following severe closed-head injury. , 2006, Neuropsychology.

[23]  Jeffrey T. Hansberger,et al.  TRACKING PILOT INTERACTIONS WITH FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS THROUGH EYE MOVEMENTS , 2001 .

[24]  J. Gregory Trafton,et al.  Preparing to resume an interrupted task: effects of prospective goal encoding and retrospective rehearsal , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[25]  R. Parasuraman,et al.  Psychophysiology and adaptive automation , 1996, Biological Psychology.

[26]  Mica R. Endsley,et al.  The Out-of-the-Loop Performance Problem and Level of Control in Automation , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[27]  G. Schwartz,et al.  Consciousness and Self-Regulation , 1976 .

[28]  I. Koch,et al.  The role of response selection for inhibition of task sets in task shifting. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[29]  Mustapha Mouloua,et al.  Effects of Adaptive Task Allocation on Monitoring of Automated Systems , 1996, Hum. Factors.

[30]  Thomas B. Sheridan,et al.  Humans and Automation: System Design and Research Issues , 2002 .

[31]  Robert J. K. Jacob,et al.  Eye tracking in human-computer interaction and usability research : Ready to deliver the promises , 2002 .

[32]  S. Keele,et al.  Changing internal constraints on action: the role of backward inhibition. , 2000, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[33]  Leslie G. Ungerleider.  Two cortical visual systems , 1982 .

[34]  L. Kaufman,et al.  Handbook of perception and human performance , 1986 .

[35]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  New possibilities for adaptive automation and work design , 2003 .

[36]  Stephanie Jainta,et al.  Fixation Disparity: Binocular Vergence Accuracy for a Visual Display at Different Positions Relative to the Eyes , 2002, Hum. Factors.

[37]  Francesco Di Nocera,et al.  Another look at scanpath: distance to nearest neighbour as a measure of mental workload , 2006 .

[38]  Daniel Gopher,et al.  Workload: An examination of the concept. , 1986 .

[39]  Glenn F. Wilson,et al.  Psychophysiological responses to changes in workload during simulated air traffic control , 1996, Biological Psychology.

[40]  Nadine B. Sarter,et al.  Supporting Decision Making and Action Selection under Time Pressure and Uncertainty: The Case of In-Flight Icing , 2001, Hum. Factors.

[41]  N. Moray,et al.  Adaptive automation, trust, and self-confidence in fault management of time-critical tasks. , 2000, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[42]  J. M. Peter,et al.  The Efficacy of Psychophysiological Measures for Implementing Adaptive Technology , 2001 .

[43]  Robert Haining,et al.  Spatial Data Analysis: Theory and Practice , 2003 .

[44]  M R Endsley,et al.  Level of automation effects on performance, situation awareness and workload in a dynamic control task. , 1999, Ergonomics.

[45]  Adrian Baddeley,et al.  spatstat: An R Package for Analyzing Spatial Point Patterns , 2005 .

[46]  Barry H. Kantowitz,et al.  Mental Workload , 2020, Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine.

[47]  D. Norman,et al.  Attention to Action: Willed and Automatic Control of Behavior Technical Report No. 8006. , 1980 .

[48]  Scott Makeig,et al.  Eye Activity Correlates of Workload during a Visuospatial Memory Task , 2001, Hum. Factors.

[49]  Ø. Hammer,et al.  PAST: PALEONTOLOGICAL STATISTICAL SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DATA ANALYSIS , 2001 .

[50]  Michela Terenzi,et al.  A Random Glance at the Flight Deck: Pilots' Scanning Strategies and the Real-Time Assessment of Mental Workload , 2007 .

[51]  Bruce G. Coury,et al.  Status or Recommendation: Selecting the Type of Information for Decision Aiding , 1990 .

[52]  R L Harris,et al.  Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload. , 1982, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[53]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  EFFECTS OF UNRELIABLE AUTOMATION ON DECISION MAKING IN COMMAND AND CONTROL , 2002 .

[54]  D. Meyer,et al.  Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. , 2001, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[55]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Attention and Effort , 1973 .

[56]  W W Wierwille,et al.  Evaluation of 20 Workload Measures Using a Psychomotor Task in a Moving-Base Aircraft Simulator , 1983, Human factors.

[57]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  A model for types and levels of human interaction with automation , 2000, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part A.

[58]  Robert Du,et al.  Towards measurement of brain function in operational environments , 1995, Biological Psychology.

[59]  Tommy Strandvall,et al.  Eye Tracking in Human-Computer Interaction and Usability Research , 2009, INTERACT.

[60]  M. A. Recarte,et al.  Mental workload while driving: effects on visual search, discrimination, and decision making. , 2003, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[61]  Jason S. McCarley,et al.  Oculomotor behaviour as a reflection of attention and memory processes: Neural mechanisms and applications to human factors , 2003 .

[62]  J. Arruda,et al.  Rhythmic Oscillations in the Performance of a Sustained Attention Task , 2003, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology.

[63]  Paul M. Fitts,et al.  Eye movements of aircraft pilots during instrument-landing approaches. , 1950 .

[64]  A. Kramer,et al.  Physiological metrics of mental workload: A review of recent progress , 1990, Multiple-task performance.

[65]  Tim Halverson,et al.  Cleaning up systematic error in eye-tracking data by using required fixation locations , 2002, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[66]  D. E. Irwin,et al.  Eye movements and scene perception: Memory for things observed , 2002, Perception & psychophysics.

[67]  Hankins Tc,et al.  A comparison of heart rate, eye activity, EEG and subjective measures of pilot mental workload during flight. , 1998, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[68]  Joseph L. Bunecke.  Quantifying Some Information Processing Requirements of the Pilot's Instrument Crosscheck , 1987 .

[69]  Raja Parasuraman,et al.  Examination of the proximity-compatibility principle in the design of displays in support of fault management in automated systems , 2003 .

[70]  Herbert A. Colle,et al.  Context Effects in Subjective Mental Workload Ratings , 1998, Hum. Factors.

[71]  M. A. Recarte,et al.  Effects of verbal and spatial-imagery tasks on eye fixations while driving. , 2000, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[72]  F. Thomas Eggemeier,et al.  Workload assessment methodology. , 1986 .

[73]  A. R. Ephrath,et al.  Instrument Scan—Is it an Indicator of the Pilot's Workload? , 1980 .

[74]  B. Velichkovsky,et al.  Time course of information processing during scene perception: The relationship between saccade amplitude and fixation duration , 2005 .