PSYC 792 - Graduate Human Factors Seminar
Applied Attention and Mental Workload
Spring 2019 (Rev. 0.9)
Last revised January 4, 2019


Time: 12:30-1:50 PM Tuesday/Thursday
Room: 203 SDU
Professor: Frank Schieber, email address: schieber@usd.edu             Class Activity Log
Home Page:
http://usd-apps.usd.edu/coglab/schieber/psyc792/

Course Description

Attention is a dominant theoretical construct in contemporary experimental psychology.  Ironically, however, this construct is difficult to define.  Hence, before we human factors types can generalize attention (and attentional mechanisms) to applied situations we will need to build some working models of attention (models that allow us to embed our work within the literature of experimental psychology as well as idiosyncratic models that meet our own personal viewpoints and philosophies).  One such family of working models conceptualizes attention as a limited mental resource which must be strategically and efficiently allocated in order to meet goal-defined performance objectives.  Measuring this allocation of resources and relating these measures to changes in performance is central to the concept of mental workload.  During the first half of this course we will attempt to understand the boundary conditions of the attention construct.  Given this basic understanding, we will then explore how applied attention research has developed into the construct of mental workload.  Mental workload theory, measurement and applications will be the focus of the second-half of the course.

Course Requirements

Each student will be assigned as a primary reader for two papers drawn from the auxiliary readings list (one major reading; one minor reading).  The primary reader will present a summary of the paper to the class and come prepared with questions to prompt class discussion.  In addition, all students must take an essay-format midterm and final exam on the topics of attention and mental workload, respectively.  The final course grade will be based upon the weighted average earned across these four requirements (exam weight = 0.33; paper presentation weight = 0.17).

Schedule of Topics/Milestones

Sequential lecture series through Wickens & McCarley chapters 1-9
    Theories of attention; Central bottleneck and PRP; SEEV Model;
    Focal vs. Ambient visual systems; Controlled vs. Automated cognition;
    Multiple Resource Theory; Computational MRT models
    (6) student paper presentations and discussion
Midterm Exam (Applied Attention) Thursday, February 28 (Just prior to Spring break)
O'Donnell & Eggemeier: "Workload assessment methodology"
    Five Evaluation criteria
    Uni- and multi-dimensional primary tasks; secondary tasks; psychophysiological indices; subjective assessments
    (6) student paper presentations and discussion
Final Exam (Mental Workload Assessment) Tuesday, April 30, 12:30-2:30 PM (date & time subject to change prior to 4/23/16)
 

Primary Textbook

Wickens, C.D. & McCarley, J.S. (2008).  Applied Attention Theory. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. [ISBN: 0-8058-5983-7 paperback]
Electronic copies of first four chapters: 1  2  3  4     [temporary links until books arrive from off-campus suppliers]

Auxiliary Reading List

Aldrich, T.B., Szabo, S.M. & Bierbaum, C.R. (1989).  The development and application of models to predict operator workload during system design.  In G.R. McMillan, et al. (Eds.), Application of human performance models to system design.  New York: Plenum Press [pp. 65-80].  [McCracken & Aldrich (1984) Technical Report]

Annett, J. (2002).  Subjective rating scales: science or art? Ergonomics, 45(14), 966-987.

Baddeley, A. (2012)  Working memory: Theories, models and controversies.  Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 1-29.

Brookhuis, K.A. & deWaard, D. (2002).  On the assessment of mental workload and other subjective qualifications.  Ergonomics, 45(14), 1026-1030.

Cao, S. & Liu, Y. (2011).  Mental workload modeling in an integrated cognitive architecture.  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 55, 2083-2087.

Card, S.K., Moran, T.P. & Newell, A. (1986).  The model human processor: An engineering model of human performance.  In K. Boff, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of perception and human performance. Volume II. Cognitive processes and performance. New York: John Wiley and Sons [pp. 45:1-45:48].

Cassenti, D.N. & Kelley, T.D. (2006).  Toward the shape of mental workload. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50, 1147-1151.

Chun, M.M., Golomb, J.D. & Turk-Browne, N.B.  (2011).  A taxonomy of external and internal attention. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 73-101.

Collie, H.A. & Reid, G.B. (1999).  Double trade-off curves with different cognitive processing combinations: Testing the cancellation axiom of mental workload measurement theory. Human Factors, 41, 35-50.

Gawron, V.J. (2000).  Human performance measures handbook. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cooper-Harper Scale (pp. 109-111); Modified Cooper-Harper Scale (pp.122-125); NASA-TLX (pp. 130-135); SWAT (pp. 141-149).

Gopher, D. & Donchin, E. (1986).  Workload: An examination of the concept.  In K. Boff, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of perception and human performance. Volume II. Cognitive processes and performance. New York: John Wiley and Sons [pp. 41:1-41:48].

Hart, S. & Staveland, L.E. (1988).  Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index).  In P.A. Hancock & N. Meshkati (Eds.), Human Mental Workload (pp. 139-193). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Hart, S. (2005). NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX): 20 years later. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Horrey, W.J., Wickens, C.D. & Consalus, K.P. (2006). Modeling drivers’ visual attention allocation while interacting with in-vehicle technologies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 12(2), 67-78.

Horrey, W.J. & Wickens, C.D. (2002)Driving and side-task performance: The effects of display clutter, separation, and modality.  (Technical Report AHFD-02-13/GM-02-2). Savoy, IL: University of Illinois, Aviation Human Factors Division.

Horrey, W.J. & Wickens, C.D. (2003).  Multiple resource modeling of task interference in vehicle control, hazard awareness and in-vehicle task performance.  Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Human Factors in Driving Assessment, Training and Vehicle Design.  Park City, UT.

Kramer, A.F. & Weber, T. (2000). Application of psychophysiology to human factors.  In J.T. Cacioppo & L.G. Tassinary (Eds.), Handbook of psychophysiology (2nd edition). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press [pp. 794-814].

Kruger, H.P. (1989).  Speech chronemics - A hidden dimension of speech. Theoretical background, Measurement and Clinical Validity. Pharmopsychaitry, 22 (Supplement), 5-12.

Laugherty, K.R., LeBiere, C. & Archer, S. (2006).  Modeling human performance in complex systems. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of human factors and ergonomics (3rd edition). New York: Wiley [pp. 967-996].

Levy, J., Pashler, H. & Boer, E. (2006).  Central interference in driving: Is there no stopping the Psychological Refractory Period?  Psychological Science, 17(3), 228-235.

Luximon, A. & Goonetilleke, R.S. (2001).  Simplified subjective workload assessment technique. Ergonomics, 44(3), 229-243.

Miura, T., Shinohara, K. & Kanda, K. (2002). Shift of attention in depth in a semi-realistic setting. Japanese Psychological Research, 44 (3), 124-133.

Norman, D.A. & Bobrow, D.G. (1975). On data-limited and resource-limited processes. Cognitive Psychology, 7, 44-64.

North, R.A. & Riley, V.A. (1988). W/INDEX: A predictive model of operator workload. In G.R. McMillan, et al. (Eds.), Application of human performance models to system design.  New York: Plenum Press [pp. 81-89].

O’Donnell, R.D. & Eggemeier, F.T. (1986).  Workload assessment methodology.   In K. Boff, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of perception and human performance. Volume II. Cognitive processes and performance. New York: John Wiley and Sons  [pp. 42:1-42:49].

Ophir, E., Nass, C. & Wagner, A.D. (2009).  Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106 (27), 15583-15587.

Parks, D.L. & Boucek, G.P. Jr. (1989).  Workload prediction, diagnosis and continuing challenges.  In G.R. McMillan, et al. (Eds.), Application of human performance models to system design.  New York: Plenum Press [pp. 47-64]. {“red line” defined as  Time Required >= 80% Time Available)

Pomransky, R.A. & Wojciechowski, J.Q. (2007).  Determination of mental workload during operation of multiple unmanned systems.  [Technical Report ARL-TR-4309].  Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD: Army Research Laboratory.

Recartes, M.A. & Nunes , L.M. (2003). Mental workload while driving:  Effects on visual search, discrimination and decision making.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9(2), 119-137.

Reid, G.B., Potter, S.S. & Bressler, J.R. (1989).  Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT): A User's Guide.  Technical Report AAMRL-TR-89-023. Wright-Patterson Airforce Base, OH: Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory.

Rubio, S., Diaz, E., Martin, J. & Puente, J.M. (2004)  A comparison of SWAT, NASA-TLX and workload profile methods.  Applied Psychology,  53(1), 61-86.

Salvucci, D.D. & Taatgen, N.A. (2008).  Threaded cognition: An integrated theory of concurrent multitasking.  Psychological Review, 115(1), 101-130.

Sassaroli, A., et al. (2008).  Discrimination of mental workload levels in human subjects with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 1(2), 227-237.

Schieber, F., Schlorholtz, B. & McCall, R. (2009).  Visual requirements of vehicular guidance. In C. Castro (Ed.), Human factors of visual and cognitive performance in driving. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press [pp. 31-50].

Schneider, W. & Fisk, A.D. (1982).  Concurrent automatic and controlled visual search: Can processing occur without resource cost? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 8(4), 261-278.

Shinohara, K., Miura, T. & Usui, S. (2002).  Tapping test as an index of mental workload in a time-sharing task. Japanese Psychological Research, 44(3), 144-151.

Shomstein, S. & Yantis, S. (2004).  Control of attentional shifts between vision and audition in the human cortex. Journal of Neurosciences, 24(47), 10702-10706.

Strayer, D.L. & Drews, F.A. (2007).  Cell-phone-induced driver distraction. Current Directions in Psychological Research, 16(3), 128-131.

Toet, A., Hogervorst, M.A. & Bijl, P. (2004).  Conspicuity and Identifiability: Efficient calibration tools for synthetic imagery. Proceedings of the SPIE, Vol. 5341, pp. 1-12.

Tokuda, S., Palmer, E., Merkle, E. & Chaparro, A. (2009). Using saccadic intrusion to quantify mental workload. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 53, 809-813.

Tsang, P.S. & Velazquez, V.L. (1996).  Diagnosticity and multidimensional subjective workload ratings. Ergonomics, 39(3), 358-381.

de Waard, D. (1996).  The measurement of drivers' mental workload. Traffic Research Centre, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. [http://home.zonnet.nl/waard2/mwl.htm]

Wickens, C.D., Helleberg, J., Goh, J., Xu, X. & Horrey, W.J. (2001)Pilot task management: Testing an attentional expected value model  of visual scanning.  Technical Report ARL-01-14. University of Illinois-Champaign, Aviation Research Laboratory.

Wickens, C.D. (2002). Multiple resources and performance prediction. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomic Science, 3(2), 159-177.

Wickens, C.D., Goh, J., Helleberg, J., Horrey, W.J. & Talleur, D.A. (2003). Attentional models of multitask pilot performance using advanced display technology. Human Factors, 45(3), 360-380.

Wickens, C.D. (2008).  Multiple resources and mental workload.  Human Factors, 50, 449-455.

von Engelen, D. (2011).  Attention Drivers! Analyzing Driver Distraction.  Diploma Thesis, Computer Science Department, RWTH Achen University, Germany.


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