An Interdisciplinary Approach to Evaluating U.S. Army Aviation Training

The U.S. Army is seeking to update and expand its use of simulation-based aviation trainingto address operational and fiscal concerns that are driving the need for more efficient training solutions.This has created a needto evaluate whether lower-cost, game-based simulations may potentially augment higher-cost, traditional simulation-based trainingfor specific aviation training tasks.However, current approaches to Training Effectiveness Evaluation (TEE) do not address the complete range of factors to adequately evaluate today’s increasingly sophisticated simulation training environments. Leveraging recent research and drawing from the tools and techniques of human performance assessment, instructional science, and phenomenology, an interdisciplinary approach to performing TEEs is introduced and describedin the context of evaluating UH-60A/L aviation collective mission training. This novel TEE approach optimizes a research-based evaluation methodology to more fully capturethe range of factors that contribute to training effectiveness ininteractive simulation training environments

Human Interaction With Robotic Systems: Performance And Workload Evaluations

We first tested the effect of differing tactile informational forms (i.e. directional cues vs. static cues vs. dynamic cues) on objective performance and perceived workload in a collaborative human–robot task. A second experiment evaluated the influence of task load and informational message type (i.e. single words vs. grouped phrases) on that same collaborative task. In both experiments, the relationship of personal characteristics (attentional control and spatial ability) to performance and workload was also measured. In addition to objective performance and self-report of cognitive load, we evaluated different physiological responses in each experiment. Results showed a performance–workload association for directional cues, message type and task load. EEG measures however, proved generally insensitive to such task load manipulations. Where significant EEG effects were observed, right hemisphere amplitude differences predominated, although unexpectedly these latter relationships were negative. Although EEG measures were partially associated with performance, they appear to possess limited utility as measures of workload in association with tactile displays. Practitioner Summary: As practitioners look to take advantage of innovative tactile displays in complex operational realms like human–robotic interaction, associated performance effects are mediated by cognitive workload. Despite some patterns of association, reliable reflections of operator state can be difficult to discern and employ as the number, complexity and sophistication of these respective measures themselves increase

What To Automate: Addressing The Multidimensionality Of Cognitive Resources Through System Design

The implementation of automation relies on the assumption that automation will reduce the operator\u27s cognitive demand and improve performance. However, accepted models demonstrate the multidimensionality of cognitive resources, suggesting that automation must support an appropriate resource dimension to have an appreciable effect. To evaluate this theory, the present study examined the impact of various types of automation on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) operator\u27s performance, workload, and stress. The use of a visually demanding task allowed for comparison between an auditory alert (supporting the heavily burdened visual dimension) and a driving aid (supporting action execution, a relatively unburdened cognitive dimension). Static and adaptive (fluctuating based on task demand) levels were implemented for each automation type. Those receiving auditory alerts exhibited better performance and reduced Worry, but also increased Temporal Demand and Effort relative to those receiving driving automation. Adaptive automation reduced workload for those receiving the auditory alerts, and increased workload for those receiving the driving automation. The results from this research demonstrate the need to consider the multidimensionality of the operator\u27s cognitive resources when implementing automation into a system. System designers should consider the type of automation necessary to support the specific cognitive resources burdened by the task. © 2013, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Task Engagement, Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity, And Diagnostic Monitoring For Sustained Attention

Loss of vigilance may lead to impaired performance in various applied settings including military operations, transportation, and industrial inspection. Individuals differ considerably in sustained attention, but individual differences in vigilance have proven to be hard to predict. The dependence of vigilance on workload factors is consistent with a resource model of sustained attention. Thus, measures of attentional resource availability may predict the operator\u27s subsequent vigilance performance. In this study, we investigated whether a diagnostic battery of measures of response to a cognitive challenge would predict subsequent sustained attention. Measures that may relate to the mobilization of resources in response to task demands include subjective task engagement and coping, and a novel psychophysiological index, cerebral bloodflow velocity (CBFV). A two-phase design was used. First, participants were exposed to a challenging battery of short tasks that elevated CBFV. Second, participants performed a 36-min vigilance task. Two subgroups of participants performed either a sensory vigilance (N = 187) or a cognitive vigilance (N = 107) task. Measures of task engagement, coping, and CBFV response to the short task battery were compared as predictors of subsequent vigilance. Both subjective and CBFV indices of energization predicted sensory and cognitive vigilance, consistent with resource theory. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a latent factor model of influences on sustained attention. It is concluded that measures of resources, conceptualized as multiple energization processes, are potentially useful for diagnostic monitoring in applied settings. Use of a diagnostic task battery in military and transportation settings is discussed, along with some potential limitations on validity of the diagnostic test. © 2010 American Psychological Association

Nationalism, Patriotism And Multinational Decision-Making Competence: Evidence From A Situation Judgment Test

Multiple factors may influence Warfighters’ ability to team effectively with personnel from other nations in joint military operations. The present study (N = 696) used a situation judgement test (SJT) to assess multinational decision-making competence. We hypothesized that both social identity and general decision-making competencies would be associated with SJT performance. Performance was associated with lower nationalism, and with decision-making competencies including application of decision rules and knowledge of social norms. Multivariate analyses suggested social identity and decision-making competence predicted performance independently, although nationalism and competence were negatively associated. These findings suggest that training strategies for Warfighters might identify the individual’s strengths and weaknesses, and tailor explicit instruction and virtual learning scenarios accordingly

Awe

If experiences of profound transformation have a core moment, that can be awe, an emotion able to maximize the possibility to change especially through its self-transcendent nature. Awe arises from stimuli so vast to prompt people to go beyond their current schema. Awe would drag people into a deep moment of uncertainty in which assimilation process fails, but accommodation has not successfully taken place yet. In this middle-suspended moment of extreme potential, everything might occur. This entry started with the current psychological definition of awe; then, it summarizes main researches in this field. Finally, I outlined the transformative nature of this phenomenon – as a self-transcendent emotion – and a new perspective to frame it in relation to a sense of possibility to change