Subjective Workload Assessment in a Memory Update Task

Twelve subjects performed a short-term memory task under several difficulty levels and rated the workload associated with each condition using the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT). SWAT ratings proved more sensitive than memory error to task difficulty variations in all but one of the most difficult memory conditions. Most importantly, SWAT ratings demonstrated their greatest relative sensitivity at the lowest levels of workload. The results are interpreted as supporting the applicability of SWAT as a sensitive workload index.