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The present study used Systems Factorial Technology (Townsend & Nozawa, 1995) to investigate how people combine dual cues in semantic memory search. Our aims were (a) to understand how cues interact during the process of semantic search in convergent thinking and (b) to determine how workload capacity (i.e. cue-processing efficiency) is related to search performance. In two experiments, participants completed a typical convergent thinking test and a word production task. The results revealed that: (a) collective evidence supports similar patterns in cue-combination strategy despite individual differences in workload capacity, and (b) there exists a negative correlation between workload capacity and performance on convergent thinking test. A potential explanation is that, for the creative individual, loading many candidate answers leads to consumption of substantial processing resources that obtains as low workload capacity but also allows creative individuals to switch more easily from one candidate to another so that there is a higher probability of successfully producing an answer within a limited time. Our results further imply that workload capacity is a significant factor for the semantic search process in convergent thinking and provides new insight on the model of semantic search and creativity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

With Artificial Intelligence taking on the roles and responsibilities of full-fledged team members there is a dire need to assess the ability of these ‘Human-Machine’ teams and compare them to Human-Human teams. Humans are influenced by the social context of the teaming environment and will adapt their behaviour accordingly if they are to compete or collaborate with another person. How the behaviour of Humans in Human-Machine teams is influenced by their artificial co-actor and the teaming environment remains unclear as do the effects of this behaviour on performance. Furthermore, the additional strain of teamwork (such as anticipating and integrating co-actor behaviour) can come at a cost to the team’s performance or rather hinder performance efficiency. Global performance measures alone cannot capture the cost of teamwork nor explore the behaviours that lead to the success or failure of teams. We utilised a novel design to explore the differences in the performance efficiency and behaviour of Human-Human teams and Human-Machine teams. Performance in both Team types indicated teamwork came at a cost in efficiency, but the cost was far less for Human-Human teams under a Collaborative teaming environment. When exploring the behavioural patterns, we found Collaboration for Human-Human teams led to a decrease in redundant behaviour and that behaviour was a significant predictor of performance efficiency. Additionally, the measure used to capture redundant behaviour appeared to be a valid indication of dynamic team behaviour. The joint analysis of performance efficiency and behavioural patterns provided a better insight into the way human team members work alongside human and non-human players. Such analysis can further inform theories regarding the ways human players interpret the actions of other team members - humans and AI - and incorporate this knowledge to drive their own actions.

In the modern world, there are important tasks that have become too complex for a single unaided individual to manage. Some safety-critical tasks are conducted by teams to improve task performance and minimize risk of error. These teams have traditionally consisted of human operators, yet nowadays AI and machine systems are incorporated into team environments to improve performance and capacity. We used a computerized task, modeled after a classic arcade game, to investigate the performance of human-machine and human-human teams. We manipulated the group conditions between team members; sometimes they were incentivised to collaborate, sometimes compete, and sometimes to work separately. We evaluated players’ performance in the main task (game play) and also measured the cognitive workload they experienced. We compared workload and game performance between different team types (human-human vs. human-machine) and different group conditions (competitive, collaborate, independent). Adapting workload capacity analysis to human-machine teams, we found performance under both team types and all group conditions suffered a performance efficiency cost. However, we observed a reduced cost in collaborative over competitive teams within human-human pairings but this effect was diminished when playing with a machine partner. The implications of workload capacity analysis as a powerful tool for human-machine team performance measurement are discussed.

Discrete choice (DCE) and rating scale experiments (RSE) are commonly applied procedures for eliciting preference judgments in a plethora of applied settings such as consumer choice and health care. Despite their common use, differences and similarities of DCE and RSE preference judgments are not yet fully understood. In typical studies using these elicitation methods, response options vary on multiple attributes and there is no objectively correct response which exacerbates comparison between the approaches. To facilitate a comparison of DCE and RSE, we conducted a perceptual discrimination experiment where response options varied on a single attribute -- stimulus saturation level -- with a known objectively correct response. Each participant completed both a DCE and RSE version of the experiment. Results indicate that there was no difference in accuracy across DCE and RSE. Furthermore, we developed and applied a cognitive model with a response mechanism for both DCE and RSE based on latent Gaussian stimulus representations. This enabled us to compare a model version that featured one shared latent stimulus representation across DCE and RSE versus a model version which featured a separate latent representation for DCE and RSE. Bayes factor model comparison favored a shared representation across DCE and RSE for 71% of participants. Parameter inference indicated that, if the representations differ across tasks, the DCE yielded a higher stimulus discrimination.

User interfaces often utilise imagery of pristine natural environments, even if the system’s purpose and context are unrelated to nature. In this paper, we build on evolutionary psychology to devel...

Cognitive workload is assumed to influence performance due to resource competition. However, there is a lack of evidence for a direct relationship between changes in workload within an individual over time and changes in that individual’s performance. We collected performance data using a multiple object-tracking task in which we measured workload objectively in real-time using a modified detection response task. Using a multi-level Bayesian model controlling for task difficulty and past performance, we found strong evidence that workload both during and preceding a tracking trial was predictive of performance, such that higher workload led to poorer performance. These negative workload-performance relationships were remarkably consistent across individuals. Importantly, we demonstrate that fluctuations in workload independent from the task demands accounted for significant performance variation. The outcomes have implications for designing real-time adaptive systems to proactively mitigate human performance decrements, but also highlight the pervasive influence of cognitive workload more generally.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of robot-mediated interventions on improvement of social communications and interactions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. It identified the variables related to social skills that were measured in the reviewed studies. A systematic review of contemporary peer-reviewed studies published from 2010 to 2019 inclusive was conducted. PsychInfo and Scopus were the databases used to identify the studies. The majority of the reviewed papers demonstrated that the robot-mediated intervention was effective in enhancing social skills in individuals with ASD. Eye contact was the variable most examined to determine the effectiveness of the interventions. Most of the robots were humanoid and operated under a Wizard of Oz autonomous mode and acted predominantly as behavior-eliciting agents. In line with previous studies, robot-mediated interventions were generally effective in improving social skill; however, there was some variability within the individuals with eye contact, joint attention, and imitation being the variables most measured. Areas considered for future research include maintenance and generalization phases with the intervention as well as matching the individuals’ needs to the features of the robots used.

Objective The present research applied a well-established measure of cognitive workload in driving literature to an in-lab paradigm. We then extended this by comparing the in-lab version of the task to an online version. Background The accurate and objective measurement of cognitive workload is important in many aspects of psychological research. The detection response task (DRT) is a well-validated method for measuring cognitive workload that has been used extensively in applied tasks, for example, to investigate the effects of phone usage or passenger conversation on driving, but has been used sparingly outside of this field. Method The study investigated whether the DRT could be used to measure cognitive workload in tasks more commonly used in experimental cognitive psychology and whether this application could be extended to online environments. We had participants perform a multiple object tracking (MOT) task while simultaneously performing a DRT. We manipulated the cognitive load of the MOT task by changing the number of dots to be tracked. Results Measurements from the DRT were sensitive to changes in the cognitive load, establishing the efficacy of the DRT for experimental cognitive tasks in lab-based situations. This sensitivity continued when applied to an online environment (our code for the online DRT implementation is freely available at https://osf.io/dc39s/ ), though to a reduced extent compared to the in-lab situation. Conclusion The MOT task provides an effective manipulation of cognitive workload. The DRT is sensitive to changes in workload across a range of settings and is suitable to use outside of driving scenarios, as well as via online delivery. Application Methodology shows how the DRT could be used to measure sources of cognitive workload in a range of human factors contexts.

Ambient Displays, a sub-class of ubiquitous computing, aim to present non-critical information using peripheral visualisation with minimal distraction. The utility of Ambient Displays relies on providing useful, well-designed information in a way that does not increase the users cognitive load. Assessing the cognitive load of an Ambient Display is thus an important part of the development process. In this paper we review the key design dimensions of Ambient Displays and consider how they impact on cognitive load. We then examine various approaches for measuring cognitive load before describing a study that investigates a novel use of a dual-task measure to evaluate the cognitive load of a specific Ambient Display. A between-subjects design with 40 participants was used, with the Ambient Display active for half of these participants. All participants completed three different primary tasks (n-back, visual digit span, and auditory digit span) alongside the secondary, Detection Response Task. The results show that the n-back task is the most appropriate for manipulating primary task load when evaluating such displays and that the dual-task paradigm can be used to provide an objective measure of workload. Analysis of the participants primary and secondary task performance indicates that the evaluated Ambient Display imposed no additional cognitive load.

With the advancement of technologies like in-car navigation and smartphones, concerns around how cognitive functioning is influenced by "workload" are increasingly prevalent. Research shows that spreading effort across multiple tasks can impair cognitive abilities through an overuse of resources, and that similar overload effects arise in difficult single-task paradigms. We developed a novel lab-based extension of the Detection Response Task, which measures workload, and paired it with a Multiple Object Tracking Task to manipulate cognitive load. Load was manipulated either by changing within-task difficulty or by the addition of an extra task. Using quantitative cognitive modelling we showed that these manipulations cause similar cognitive impairments through diminished processing rates, but that the introduction of a second task tends to invoke more cautious response strategies that do not occur when only difficulty changes. We conclude that more prudence should be exercised when directly comparing multi-tasking and difficulty-based workload impairments, particularly when relying on measures of central tendency.

The aim of this study was to explore the potential association between (i) the technology features of the applied cognitive technology (ACT) used to support employment-related outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and (ii) the cognitive functions. The WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used to categorize the cognitive functions. The researchers of the 41 papers included in previous meta-analyses on the same topic were invited to participate in the study. An online survey was conducted. Correspondence analysis was employed to analyze the aforementioned association. Attention, memory, and higher-level cognitive functions were primarily associated with the majority of the ACT’s technology features. The results demonstrated a main distinct cluster including these three dominant cognitive functions and predominantly all the “output” categories of technology features. Another smaller but distinct cluster including mental function of sequencing complex movements and “touch screen/touchpad” category of technology features was also demonstrated. In line with previous studies, the largest proportion of ACTs have been used to assist primarily the aforementioned three cognitive functions. The new classification of ACT’s technology features based on cognitive function in this study can promote a common language and shared understanding for the prescription of technology.

Numerals are part of our everyday lives and are regularly viewed in less-than ideal conditions. Mistaking one numeral for another is almost an inevitability, and the cost of these confusions could be insignificant or hugely expensive! Numeral confusions can be explained by distances between our mental representations — how we internally represent the external world — resulting from their perceived similarities; yet, how expertise interacts with the mental space of numerals is largely unexplored. We used an identification paradigm to investigate the mental representations of familiar and unfamiliar numerals (4 sets: Arabic, Chinese, Thai, and non-symbolic dots) in a first-language English and a first-language Chinese speaking cohort. Using Luce's choice model, we removed the undesired effect of response bias and conducted multidimensional scaling analyses. Results showed that expertise with numerals alters distances in the mental space, that unfamiliar numerals are represented identically across cultures, that non-symbolic numerals (dots) may be represented both perceptually and numerically in the mental space, and that Arabic, Thai and Chinese numerals are represented by their perceptual similarities. The findings and methods of this study provide a principled foundation for future investigations into how expertise shapes people's mental representations.

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a microdeletion on the long arm of chromosome 22. Sleep problems have been reported in this population, and psychiatric disorders and affect dysregulation are common to the behavioral phenotype of 22q11DS. Sleep and affect have been consistently linked across multiple studies, yet despite this very little research has investigated sleep problems in 22q11DS, or the link between sleep and affect in this population. The Experience Sampling Method was used to track daily reports of sleep quality and affect in a total of 29 individuals with 22q11DS and 21 control subjects. Measurements were recorded during a 6-day period using an electronic device that prompted daily response with audio cues. Participants with 22q11DS were found to experience a longer sleep onset latency and a greater amount, and duration, of night wakings compared with control subjects. Despite this, no significant between-group difference was found for subjective sleep quality. 22q11DS participants reported more experiences of negative affect and less positive affect than control subjects. A bidirectional relationship was found between sleep measures and affect. Sleep problems can cause a wide range of negative health effects, and individuals with 22q11DS are particularly vulnerable to deficits of sleep. To ensure high standards of care, healthcare providers should be aware of the possibility and impact of sleep problems in this population. ispartof: JOURNAL OF GENETIC PSYCHOLOGY vol:182 issue:5 pages:304-316 ispartof: location:United States status: published

ObjectiveWe have designed tracking and collision prediction tasks to elucidate the differences in the physiological response to the workload variations in basic ATC tasks to untangle the impact of workload variations experienced by operators working in a complex ATC environment.BackgroundEven though several factors influence the complexity of ATC tasks, keeping track of the aircraft and preventing collision are the most crucial.MethodsPhysiological measures, such as electroencephalogram (EEG), eye activity, and heart rate variability (HRV) data, were recorded from 24 participants performing tracking and collision prediction tasks with three levels of difficulty.ResultsThe neurometrics of workload variations in the tracking and collision prediction tasks were markedly distinct, indicating that neurometrics can provide insights on the type of mental workload. The pupil size, number of blinks and HRV metric, root mean square of successive difference (RMSSD), varied significantly with the mental workload in both these tasks in a similar manner.ConclusionOur findings indicate that variations in task load are sensitively reflected in physiological signals, such as EEG, eye activity and HRV, in these basic ATC-related tasks.ApplicationThese findings have applicability to the design of future mental workload adaptive systems that integrate neurometrics in deciding not just ‘when’ but also ‘what’ to adapt. Our study provides compelling evidence in the viability of developing intelligent closed-loop mental workload adaptive systems that ensure efficiency and safety in ATC and beyond.PrécisThis article identifies the physiological correlates of mental workload variation in basic ATC tasks. The findings assert that neurometrics can provide more information on the task that contributes to the workload, which can aid in the design of intelligent mental workload adaptive system.

Systems Factorial Technology (SFT) is a popular framework for that has been used to investigate processing capacity across many psychological domains over the past 25+ years. To date, it had been assumed that no processing resources are used for sources in which no signal has been presented (i.e., in a location that can contain a signal but does not on a given trial). Hence, response times are purely driven by the signal-containing location or locations. This assumption is critical to the underlying mathematics of the capacity coefficient measure of SFT. In this article, we show that stimulus locations influence response times even when they contain no signal, and that this influence has repercussions for the interpretation of processing capacity under the SFT framework, particularly in conjunctive (AND) tasks-where positive responses require detection of signals in multiple locations. We propose a modification to the AND task requiring participants to fully identify both target locations on all trials. This modification allows a new coefficient to be derived. We apply the new coefficient to novel experimental data and resolve a previously reported empirical paradox, where observed capacity was limited in an OR detection task but super capacity in an AND detection task. Hence, previously reported differences in processing capacity between OR and AND task designs are likely to have been spurious. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Systems factorial technology (SFT) is a theoretically derived methodology that allows for strong inferences to be made about underlying processing architectures (e.g., whether processing occurs in a pooled, coactive fashion or in serial or in parallel). Measures of mental architecture using SFT have been restricted to the use of error-free response times (RTs). In this article, through formal proofs and demonstrations, we extended the measure of architecture, the survivor interaction contrast (SIC), to RTs conditioned on whether they are correct or incorrect. We show that so long as an ordering relation (between stimulus conditions of different difficulty) is preserved, we learn that the canonical SIC predictions result when exhaustive processing is necessary and sufficient for a response. We further prove that this ordering relation holds for the popular Wiener diffusion model for both correct and error RTs but fails under some classes of a Poisson counter model, which affords a strong potential experimental test of the latter class versus the others. Our exploration also serves to point to the importance of detailed studies of how errors are made in perceptual and cognitive tasks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

In this paper, we analyze how different information-processing architectures deal with conflicting information. A robust finding in psychological research is that response times are slower when processing conflicting sources of information (e.g., naming the color of the word RED when printed in green in the well-known Stroop task) than when processing congruent sources of information (e.g., naming the color of the word GREEN when printed in green). We suggest that the effect of conflicting information depends on the processing architectures and derive a new measure of information processing called the conflict contrast function, which is indicative of how different architectures perform with conflicts at different levels of salience. By varying the salience of the conflicting information source, we show that serial, parallel, and coactive information processing architectures predict qualitatively distinct conflict contrast functions. We provide new analyses of three previously collected data sets: a detection task with Stroop color-word stimuli and two categorization experiments. Our novel measure provides convergent evidence about the underlying processing architecture in the categorization tasks and surprising results in the Stroop detection task.

The Dutch auction, also known as the descending-price auction or reverse clock auction, has a long-standing history in practice and in academic literature. In practice, the Dutch auction is commonly used to rapidly sell large quantities of homogeneous goods, such as cut flowers, fish, or tobacco. However, most e-commerce auction sites focus on other auction mechanisms, and overall research on human behavior in Dutch auctions is scant. To facilitate research on Dutch auctions and their applications in electronic commerce, we conduct a structured literature review of experimental studies and establish the current state of research on bidding behavior in single-unit and multi-unit Dutch auctions. The findings are based on an analysis of twenty-nine articles published in the fields of economics, information management, marketing, and operations research and management science between 1970 and 2016. This review reveals (1) the characteristics that make the Dutch auction unique compared to other auction...

Cognitive load from secondary tasks is a source of distraction causing injuries and fatalities on the roadway. The Detection Response Task (DRT) is an international standard for assessing cognitive load on drivers' attention that can be performed as a secondary task with little to no measurable effect on the primary driving task. We investigated whether decrements in DRT performance were related to the rate of information processing, levels of response caution, or the non-decision processing of drivers. We had pairs of participants take part in the DRT while performing a simulated driving task, manipulated cognitive load via the conversation between driver and passenger, and observed associated slowing in DRT response time. Fits of the single-bound diffusion model indicated that slowing was mediated by an increase in response caution. We propose the novel hypothesis that, rather than the DRT's sensitivity to cognitive load being a direct result of a loss of information processing capacity to other tasks, it is an indirect result of a general tendency to be more cautious when making responses in more demanding situations.

Objective To test the effects of enhanced display information (“symbology”) on cognitive workload in a simulated helicopter environment, using the detection response task (DRT). Background Workload in highly demanding environments can be influenced by the amount of information given to the operator and consequently it is important to limit potential overload. Methods Participants (highly trained military pilots) completed simulated helicopter flights, which varied in visual conditions and the amount of information given. During these flights, participants also completed a DRT as a measure of cognitive workload. Results With more visual information available, pilots’ landing accuracy was improved across environmental conditions. The DRT is sensitive to changes in cognitive workload, with workload differences shown between environmental conditions. Increasing symbology appeared to have a minor effect on workload, with an interaction effect of symbology and environmental condition showing that symbology appeared to moderate workload. Conclusion The DRT is a useful workload measure in simulated helicopter settings. The level of symbology-moderated pilot workload. The increased level of symbology appeared to assist pilots’ flight behavior and landing ability. Results indicate that increased symbology has benefits in more difficult scenarios. Applications The DRT is an easily implemented and effective measure of cognitive workload in a variety of settings. In the current experiment, the DRT captures the increased workload induced by varying the environmental conditions, and provides evidence for the use of increased symbology to assist pilots.

The accurate and objective measurement of cognitive workload is important in many aspects of psychological research. The Detection Response Task (DRT) is a well-validated method for measuring cognitive workload that has been used extensively in applied tasks, for example to investigate the effects of fatigue and phone usage on driving. Given its success in applied tasks, we investigated whether the DRT could be used to measure cognitive workload in cognitive tasks more commonly used in experimental cognitive psychology, and whether this application could be extended to online environments. We had participants perform a multiple object tracking task while simultaneously performing a DRT. We manipulated the cognitive load of the multiple object tracking task by changing the number of dots to be tracked. Measurements from the DRT were sensitive to changes in the cognitive load, establishing the efficacy of the DRT for experimental cognitive tasks in lab-based situations. This sensitivity continued when applied to an online environment (with our code for the online DRT implementation being freely available at \url{https://osf.io/dc39s/}), though to a reduced extent compared to the in-lab situation, opening up the potential use of the DRT to a much greater range of tasks and situations, but suggesting that in-lab applications are best when possible.

With the advancement of technologies like in-car navigation and smartphones, concerns around how cognitive functioning is influenced by ``workload'' are increasingly prevalent. Research shows that spreading effort across multiple tasks can impair cognitive abilities through an overuse of resources, and that similar overload effects arise in difficult single-task paradigms. We developed a novel lab-based extension of the Detection Response Task, which measures workload, and paired it with a Multiple Object Tracking Task to manipulate cognitive load. Load was manipulated either by changing within-task difficulty or by the addition of an extra task. Using quantitative cognitive modelling we showed that these manipulations cause similar cognitive impairments through diminished processing rates, but that the introduction of a second task tends to invoke more cautious response strategies that do not occur when only difficulty changes. We conclude that more prudence should be exercised when directly comparing multitasking and difficulty-based workload impairments, particularly when relying on measures of central tendency.