Interface changes causing accidents. An empirical study of negative transfer

International audienceWhen expert operators interact with a new device, they inevitably reuse former interaction modes and actions. This phenomenon is due to the human cognition seeking resources savings. Schemas support this strategy and are implemented in such a way that perfection is disregarded at the profit of an intuitive trade-off between performance and cognitive resources savings. As a consequence, humans have a strong inclination to fit well-known solution procedures into new problems. For this reason, changes in work environments can cause accidents when they allow operators to interact with a new device if the latter is erroneously perceived as familiar. This research issue originates from an industrial background. The suspected cause of a fatal error performed by an operator in a steelworks factory is replicated in an experiment. The results support the hypothesis according to which errors (and possible subsequent accidents) due to changes in the interface are more likely when the latter does not inhibit former modes of interaction modes. This main result is discussed under the angle of cognitive ergonomics and used as a basis to provide design guidelines

Why good thoughts block better ones: The mechanism of the pernicious Einstellung (set) effect.

The Einstellung (set) effect occurs when the first idea that comes to mind, triggered by familiar features of a problem, prevents a better solution being found. It has been shown to affect both people facing novel problems and experts within their field of expertise. We show that it works by influencing mechanisms that determine what information is attended to. Having found one solution, expert chess players reported that they were looking for a better one. But their eye movements showed that they continued to look at features of the problem related to the solution they had already thought of. The mechanism which allows the first schema activated by familiar aspects of a problem to control the subsequent direction of attention may contribute to a wide range of biases both in everyday and expert thought - from confirmation bias in hypothesis testing to the tendency of scientists to ignore results that do not fit their favoured theories

STUDYING THE CARRY-OVER EFFECT IN END USER COMPUTER TRAINING: PROPOSITION OF A RESEARCH AGENDA

The carry-over effect in end user computer training refers to the transfer of a person\u27s computer skills from one application to another. The importance of the carry-over effect is unquestionable, but its nature has not been well understood. In this article, a research agenda is developed to analyze the nature, the roles, and the antecedents of the carry-over effect. Three fundamental questions are asked: 1) what is the carry-over effect and how to measure it? 2) What roles does it play in end user computer training? And 3) what factors determine the carry-over effect? Propositions are developed to give directions in further empirical research, and some preliminary evidences are discussed. Potential implications for Information Systems research and practice are discussed

Conceptualizing design affordances from a cognitive perspective

The term affordance carries multiple meanings for designers. Traditionally, affordances were discussed within a Gibsonian framework as arising from direct perception of physical constraints. However, some authors extended the meaning to include learned cultural constraints, leading to a theoretical debate about whether designers should draw a distinction between perceptual affordances and learned cultural conventions. In this dissertation it is suggested that a broader meaning of affordance is more appropriate for designers and that a unified account of affordances can be achieved using a cognitive conceptualization of perceived affordances. Within this cognitive framework, perceived affordances arise from automatic processes in the user that either are inborn or have developed over time as consistent interactions produce changes in long-term memory. Well learned conventions are examples of the latter. The cognitive mechanisms responsible for how perceived affordances arise and how they affect the cognitive system are presented along with a flowchart to help guide designer decisions. Three experiments examining empirical differences between affordances and conventions are reported. The first experiment asked whether users have developed conventions in the absence of affordances. A simple task was used in which participants pressed buttons in response to directional cues. The results showed that affordances exist when the spatial configuration of the buttons is congruent with directional cues. In the absence of affordances, most participants demonstrated consistent button-to-action mapping that represented a convention. Behavioral differences between affordances and conventions were not found. The second experiment confirmed that in ambiguous tasks, conventions guide expectancies about button-to-action mappings. The cognitive attributes of affordances and conventions were examined in the third experiment by manipulating working memory load and expected interaction congruency. Results indicated some behavioral differences between acting on affordances and acting on conventions. However, violating the button-to-action mappings defining either an affordance or a convention produced similar performance costs. Taken together, the results suggest that after the initial learning period, conventions play a critical role in the perception of a design\u27s available actions, just as do perceptual affordances. Therefore, designers ought to employ perceptual affordances when possible and when that is not feasible reuse established conventions

Combining situated Cognitive Engineering with a novel testing method in a case study comparing two infusion pump interfaces

We validated the usability of a new infusion pump interface designed with a situated Cognitive Engineering approach by comparing it to a reference interface using a novel testing method employing repeated measurements and process measures, in addition to traditional outcome measures. The sample consisted of 25 nurses who performed eight critical tasks three times. Performance measures consisted of number and type of errors, deviations from a pre-established normative path solution, task completion times, number of keystrokes, mental effort and preferences in use. Results showed that interaction with the new interface resulted in 18% fewer errors, 90% fewer normative path deviations, 42% lower task completion times, 40% fewer keystrokes, 39% lower mental effort and 76% more subjective preferences in use. These outcomes suggest that within the scope of this case study, combining the situated Cognitive Engineering approach with a novel testing method addresses various shortcomings of earlier testing methods

Human centric collaborative workplace: the human robot interaction system perspective

The implementation of smart technologies and physical collaboration with robots in manufacturing can provide competitive advantages in production, performance and quality, as well as improve working conditions for operators. Due to the rapid advancement of smart technologies and robot capabilities, operators face complex task processes, decline in competences due to robots overtaking tasks, and reduced learning opportunities, as the range of tasks that they are asked to perform is narrower. The Industry 5.0 framework introduced, among others, the human-centric workplace, promoting operators wellbeing and use of smart technologies and robots to support them. This new human centric framework enables operators to learn new skills and improve their competencies. However, the need to understand the effects of the workplace changes remain, especially in the case of human robot collaboration, due to the dynamic nature of human robot interaction. A literature review was performed, initially, to map the effects of workplace changes on operators and their capabilities. Operators need to perform tasks in a complex environment in collaboration with robots, receive information from sensors or other means (e.g. through augmented reality glasses) and decide whether to act upon them. Meanwhile, operators need to maintain their productivity and performance. This affects cognitive load and fatigue, which increases safety risks and probability of human-system error. A model for error probability was formulated and tested in collaborative scenarios, which regards the operators as natural systems in the workplace environment, taking into account their condition based on four macro states; behavioural, mental, physical and psychosocial. A scoping review was then performed to investigate the robot design features effects on operators in the human robot interaction system. Here, the outcomes of robot design features effects on operators were mapped and potential guidelines for design purposes were identified. The results of the scoping review showed that, apart from cognitive load, operators perception on robots reliability and their safety, along with comfort can influence team cohesion and quality in the human robot interaction system. From the findings of the reviews, an experimental study was designed with the support of the industrial partner. The main hypothesis was that cognitive load, due to collaboration, is correlated with quality of product, process and human work. In this experimental study, participants had to perform two tasks; a collaborative assembly and a secondary manual assembly. Perceived task complexity and cognitive load were measured through questionnaires, and quality was measured through errors participants made during the experiment. Evaluation results showed that while collaboration had positive influence in performing the tasks, cognitive load increased and the temporal factor was the main reason behind the issues participants faced, as it slowed task management and decision making of participants. Potential solutions were identified that can be applied to industrial settings, such as involving participants/operators in the task and workplace design phase, sufficient training with their robot co-worker to learn the task procedures and implement direct communication methods between operator and robot for efficient collaboration

Modulación de la Interferencia y la Ansiedad en la Recuperación de Esquemas Implícitos a través de la Memoria de Trabajo

Se llevó adelante un estudio experimental en una muestra de 44 sujetos adultos para probar los efectos de la amplitud de la memoria de trabajo (AMT) y de la carga de interferencia proactiva (IP), sobre los niveles de ansiedad experimentados y la capacidad para inhibir esquemas implícitos. Para tal fin se diseñó el instrumento ESTRELLA, una versión digitalizada con tecnología Arduino de la prueba de dibujo en espejo utilizada para medir memoria procedimental por Brenda Milner (Ferreres, 2016; Fraisse, 1954; Milner et al., 1998; Pinel, 2001), también utilizada para medir el potencial de aprendizaje de praxias motoras (Piñeyro, 2015). Se midió el efecto que tuvo el nivel de sorpresa experimentado durante la realización de la tarea sobre la capacidad de inhibición de esquemas procedimentales implícitos desajustados que interfieren durante la tarea. Los resultados indican que la AMT incide en la capacidad de inhibición de IP y modula los niveles de ansiedad, mientras que el efecto sorpresa facilitaría un proceso de reconsolidación que permitiría la adecuación o reestructuración de los esquemas implícitos desajustados

Concept Development and Design Description of Electronic Flight Data Interfaces for Airport Traffic Control Towers

This report documents and describes the development process, design rationale, and design description for two prototype Electronic Flight Data Interfaces (EFDIs) for an Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). The author designed the EFDIs as part of a concept research program to examine the feasibility of using Electronic Flight Data (EFD) in an ATCT instead of paper Flight Progress Strips. The author designed the EFDIs based on literature review, working group and subject matter expert input, task analyses, low-risk usability tests, and a rapid prototype process. The Integrated EFDI incorporates EFD with the Airport Surface Detection Equipment - Model X (ASDE-X). The Perceptual-Spatial EFDI does not rely on ASDE-X, but presents EFD that controllers can arrange spatially on an airport surface map. Both EFDIs include separate displays for the local and ground controller positions and provide controllers with the ability to record, manage, and transfer flight data. The EFDIs will be used to automate some flight data management tasks, to provide new tools designed to reduce controller workload and improve safety, and to improve controller efficiency by integrating information. A provisional patent application is pending for the EFDIs

Differences in Cognitive Flexibility Within the Primate Lineage and Across Human Cultures: When Learned Strategies Block Better Alternatives

By applying learned rules, humans are able to accurately solve many problems with minimal cognitive effort; yet, this sort of habit-based problem solving may readily foster a type of cognitive inflexibility termed ‘cognitive set’. Cognitive set occurs when an alternative – even more efficient – strategy is masked by a known, familiar solution. In this research, I explored how cognitive set differs between primate species and across human cultures, using a nonverbal computerized ‘LS-DS’ task, which measures subjects’ ability to depart from a three-step, learned strategy (LS) in order to adopt a more efficient, one-step, direct strategy (DS or ‘the shortcut’). First, I compared baboons’, chimpanzees’, and humans’ abilities to break cognitive set and found that all baboon and chimpanzee subjects used the DS shortcut when it became available; yet, humans exhibited a remarkable preference for the LS. Next, in an effort to elucidate how cognitive set occludes alternative strategies, I tracked human participants’ eye movements to identify whether better solutions are a) visually overlooked or b) seen but disregarded. Although human subjects saw the shortcut, they did not use it until their conceptualization of the problem constraints were altered. Lastly, to further distinguish between perceptual and conceptual influences on cognitive set, I compared shortcut-use between Westerners and the semi-nomadic Himba of northern Namibia. This study found that susceptibility to cognitive set varied across human cultures and presented further evidence that problem conceptualization, and not perceptual processing, influences individuals’ ability to break set and use the alternative. Overall, this research provides a novel comparison of cognitive flexibility within the primate lineage and across human cultures. The implications for set-promoting influences, including the potentially mechanizing problem-solving methods typical of Western education, are discussed