Showing papers in "Human Factors in 2008"

Naturalistic Decision Making

Abstract: Objective: This article describes the origins and contributions of the naturalistic decision making (NDM) research approach. Background: NDM research emerged in the 1980s to study how people make decisions in real-world settings. Method: The findings and methods used by NDM researchers are presented along with their implications. Results: The NDM framework emphasizes the role of experience in enabling people to rapidly categorize situations to make effective decisions. Conclusion: The NDM focus on field settings and its interest in complex conditions provide insights for human factors practitioners about ways to improve performance. Application: The NDM approach has been used to improve performance through revisions of military doctrine, training that is focused on decision requirements, and the development of information technologies to support decision making and related cognitive functions.

Multiple Resources and Mental Workload

Abstract: Objective: The objective is to lay out the rationale for multiple resource theory and the particular 4-D multiple resource model, as well as to show how the model is useful both as a design tool and as a means of predicting multitask workload overload. Background: I describe the discoveries and developments regarding multiple resource theory that have emerged over the past 50 years that contribute to performance and workload prediction. Method: The article presents a history of the multiple resource concept, a computational version of the multiple resource model applied to multitask driving simulation data, and the relation of multiple resources to workload. Results: Research revealed the importance of the four dimensions in accounting for task interference and the association of resources with brain structure. Multiple resource models yielded high correlations between model predictions and data. Lower correlations also identified the existence of additional resources. Conclusion: The model was shown to b...

On Teams, Teamwork, and Team Performance: Discoveries and Developments

Abstract: Objective: We highlight some of the key discoveries and developments in the area of team performance over the past 50 years, especially as reflected in the pages of Human Factors.Background: Teams ...

Vigilance Requires Hard Mental Work and Is Stressful

Abstract: Objective: We describe major discoveries and developments in vigilance research. Background: Vigilance tasks have typically been viewed as undemanding assignments requiring little mental effort. The vigilance decrement function has also been considered to result from a decline in arousal brought about by understimulation. Methods: Recent research in vigilance is reviewed in four areas: studies of task type, perceived mental workload during vigilance, neural measures of resource demand in vigilance, and studies of task-induced stress. Results: Experiments comparing successive and simultaneous vigilance tasks support an attentional resource theory of vigilance. Subjective reports also show that the workload of vigilance is high and sensitive to factors that increase processing demands. Neuroimaging studies using transcranial Doppler sonography provide strong, independent evidence for resource changes linked to performance decrement in vigilance tasks. Finally, physiological and subjective reports confirm th...

Does Team Training Improve Team Performance? A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Objective: This research effort leveraged the science of training to guide a taxonomic integration and a series of meta-analyses to gauge the effectiveness and boundary conditions of team training ...

Tactile displays: guidance for their design and application.

Abstract: Objective: This article provides an overview of tactile displays. Its goal is to assist human factors practitioners in deciding when and how to employ the sense of touch for the purpose of information representation. The article also identifies important research needs in this area. Background: First attempts to utilize the sense of touch as a medium for communication date back to the late 1950s. For the next 35 years progress in this area was relatively slow, but recent years have seen a surge in the interest and development of tactile displays and the integration of tactile signals in multimodal interfaces. A thorough understanding of the properties of this sensory channel and its interaction with other modalities is needed to ensure the effective and robust use of tactile displays. Methods: First, an overview of vibrotactile perception is provided. Next, the design of tactile displays is discussed with respect to available technologies. The potential benefit of including tactile cues in multimodal inte...

Not all trust is created equal: dispositional and history-based trust in human-automation interactions.

Abstract: Objective: We provide an empirical demonstration of the importance of attending to human user individual differences in examinations of trust and automation use. Background: Past research has generally supported the notions that machine reliability predicts trust in automation, and trust in turn predicts automation use. However, links between user personality and perceptions of the machine with trust in automation have not been empirically established. Method: On our X-ray screening task, 255 students rated trust and made automation use decisions while visually searching for weapons in X-ray images of luggage. Results: We demonstrate that individual differences affect perceptions of machine characteristics when actual machine characteristics are constant, that perceptions account for 52% of trust variance above the effects of actual characteristics, and that perceptions mediate the effects of actual characteristics on trust. Importantly, we also demonstrate that when administered at different times, the s...

Humans : Still Vital After All These Years of Automation

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The authors discuss empirical studies of human-automation interaction and their implications for automation design. BACKGROUND: Automation is prevalent in safety-critical systems and increasingly in everyday life. Many studies of human performance in automated systems have been conducted over the past 30 years. METHODS: Developments in three areas are examined: levels and stages of automation, reliance on and compliance with automation, and adaptive automation. RESULTS: Automation applied to information analysis or decision-making functions leads to differential system performance benefits and costs that must be considered in choosing appropriate levels and stages of automation. Human user dependence on automated alerts and advisories reflects two components of operator trust, reliance and compliance, which are in turn determined by the threshold designers use to balance automation misses and false alarms. Finally, adaptive automation can provide additional benefits in balancing workload and maintaining the user's situation awareness, although more research is required to identify when adaptation should be user controlled or system driven. CONCLUSIONS: The past three decades of empirical research on humans and automation has provided a strong science base that can be used to guide the design of automated systems. APPLICATION: This research can be applied to most current and future automated systems. Language: en

A comparison of tactile, visual, and auditory warnings for rear-end collision prevention in simulated driving

Abstract: Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of rear-end collision warnings presented in different sensory modalities as a function of warning timing in a driving simulator. Background: The proliferation of in-vehicle information and entertainment systems threatens driver attention and may increase the risk of rear-end collisions. Collision warning systems have been shown to improve inattentive and/or distracted driver response time (RT) in rear-end collision situations. However, most previous rear-end collision warning research has not directly compared auditory, visual, and tactile warnings. Method: Sixteen participants in a fixed-base driving simulator experienced four warning conditions: no warning, visual, auditory, and tactile. The warnings activated when the time-to-collision (TTC) reached a critical threshold of 3.0 or 5.0 s. Driver RT was captured from a warning below critical threshold to brake initiation. Results: Drivers with a tactile warning had the shortest mean RT. Drivers with a tactile warning had significantly shorter RT than drivers without a warning and had a significant advantage over drivers with visual warnings. Conclusion: Tactile warnings show promise as effective rear-end collision warnings. Application: The results of this study can be applied to the future design and evaluation of automotive warnings designed to reduce rear-end collisions.

Situation awareness: review of Mica Endsley's 1995 articles on situation awareness theory and measurement.

Abstract: Objective: This article summarizes two articles by Endsley on situation awareness (SA) and presents the influence of the concept on subsequent practice and theory of human factors. Background: In her articles, Endsley integrated and consolidated existing research done in the prior decade. Method: I carefully examined and integrated subsequent articles on the SA topic written by Endsley and by others. Results: This integration revealed that SA has been applied to areas of training, error analysis, design, selection, teamwork, and automation. Some key issues related to automation and SA are reviewed in detail. Conclusion: Situation awareness is a viable and important construct that still possesses some controversy over measurement issues. Application: Ways in which human factors practitioners have used the SA construct and numerous citations are provided to assist designers.

Aging and human performance.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: I identify major theoretical and practical contributions to aging and human performance as reflected primarily in the pages of Human Factors. BACKGROUND: Populations worldwide are aging. True experimental work on aging is not possible because age levels cannot be manipulated. Sophisticated theoretical frameworks and modeling techniques are required to reach valid inferences about age effects and age changes. METHOD: Citation analysis was used to identify articles in Human Factors dealing with age or aging and to rank them for citation impact. RESULTS: Special issues on aging were followed by increased publication rates for articles on age or aging, particularly in the 1990s. Most-cited articles deal primarily with age and driving. CONCLUSIONS: Applied contributions rely on improved measurement of performance and on methodological advances, including simulation and modeling. Design changes that provide environmental support for declining cognitive, perceptual, and psychomotor abilities can serve as a powerful intervention for maintaining and improving older adult performance. Training is also a robust way to improve performance at both the basic ability level and the level of task performance. Human factors specialists can improve quality of life for an aging population. APPLICATIONS: Guidelines for older users are now being developed by standards bodies and are implemented in domains such as Web design. Much of the focus of human factors research has been on improving efficiency in the performance of aging adults in the workforce, but reducing errors and increasing comfort and satisfaction in health-related activities should receive greater attention. Language: en

Putting the Brain to Work: Neuroergonomics Past, Present, and Future:

Abstract: Objective: The authors describe research and applications in prominent areas of neuroergonomics. Background: Because human factors/ergonomics examines behavior and mind at work, it should include the study of brain mechanisms underlying human performance. Methods: Neuroergonomic studies are reviewed in four areas: workload and vigilance, adaptive automation, neuroengineering, and molecular genetics and individual differences. Results: Neuroimaging studies have helped identify the components of mental workload, workload assessment in complex tasks, and resource depletion in vigilance. Furthermore, real-time neurocognitive assessment of workload can trigger adaptive automation. Neural measures can also drive brain-computer interfaces to provide disabled users new communication channels. Finally, variants of particular genes can be associated with individual differences in specific cognitive functions. Conclusions: Neuroergonomics shows that considering what makes work possible — the human brain — can enrich...

Risk, human error, and system resilience: fundamental ideas.

Abstract: Objective: I review and critique basic ideas of both traditional error/risk analysis and the newer and contrasting paradigm of resilience engineering. Background: Analysis of human error has matured and been applied over the past 50 years by human factors engineers, whereas the resilience engineering paradigm is relatively new. Method: Fundamental ideas and examples of human factors applications of each approach are presented and contrasted. Results: Probabilistic risk analysis provides mathematical rigor in generalizing on past error events to identify system vulnerabilities, but prediction is problematical because (a) error definition is arbitrary, and thus it is difficult to infer valid probabilities of human error to input to quantitative models, and (b) future accident conditions are likely to be quite different from those of past accidents. The new resilience engineering paradigm, in contrast, is oriented toward organizational process and is concerned with anticipating, mitigating, and preparing for...

Fifty Years of Driving Safety Research

Abstract: Objective: This brief review covers the 50 years of driving-related research published in Human Factors, its contribution to driving safety, and emerging challenges. Background: Many factors affect driving safety, making it difficult to assess the impact of specific factors such as driver age, cell phone distractions, or collision warnings. Method: The author considers the research themes associated with the approximately 270 articles on driving published in Human Factors in the past 50 years. Results: To a large extent, current and past research has explored similar themes and concepts. Many articles published in the first 25 years focused on issues such as driver impairment, individual differences, and perceptual limits. Articles published in the past 25 years address similar issues but also point toward vehicle technology that can exacerbate or mitigate the negative effect of these issues. Conceptual and computational models have played an important role in this research. Conclusion: Improved crashwort...

Expertise differences in attentional strategies related to pilot decision making.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: We investigated expertise differences in pilot decision making by examining a hypothesized attention-action link. During simulated flight we measured the accuracy and latency of more and less expert pilots' decision outcomes and used eye tracking to measure their attention. We also examined whether decision outcomes and attentional strategies were influenced by properties of the cues indicating problems. BACKGROUND: Errors in decision making contribute to many accidents and incidents, especially among inexperienced pilots. Although much is known about decision errors in terms of their outcomes, less is known about the cognitive processes that underlie expert differences in aviation decision making. METHOD: Fourteen more expert and 14 less expert pilots flew 16 flights in a simulator. Half of the flights contained a failure requiring diagnosis and action in response to the failure. Cues signaling the failures varied in how diagnostic and/or correlated they were. RESULTS: The more expert pilots generally made better decisions in terms of speed and accuracy. Both groups made faster correct decisions when cues were high versus low in diagnosticity. Only the more expert pilots made faster correct decisions when cues were correlated. More attention was allocated to relevant cues (measured by percentage dwell time on areas of interest) when a failure was present, primarily among expert pilots. Moreover, the amount of attention to cues was associated with decision accuracy. CONCLUSION: The findings support the link between greater attention and more effective decision making. APPLICATION: The expert advantage in attention underlying decision outcomes may provide targets for improving pilot training. Language: en

Investigation of Grip Force, Normal Force, Contact Area, Hand Size, and Handle Size for Cylindrical Handles

Abstract: Objective: To investigate relationships among grip forces, normal forces, contact area for cylindrical handles, handle diameter, hand size, and volar hand area. Background: Data describing those relationships are needed to predict thrust forces and torque capability. Method: Additional analyses were performed retrospectively on data collected in two previous studies in which participants performed maximum grip exertions on cylinders (diameter 38‐83 mm) while grip force, normal force, and contact area were recorded. The length, width, and volar area of the hand were measured. Results: Average total normal force on cylinders was 2.3 times greater than grip force measured using a split cylinder (R 2 = 65%), regardless of the handle diameter examined. The ratio of handle diameter to hand length explained 62%, 57%, and 71% of the variances in grip force, normal force, and contact area, respectively. Estimated hand area (hand length × width) had a linear relationship with measured hand area (using photographs; R 2 = 91%), although it was 8% less than the measured area. Conclusion: This work describes the relationship between normal force and grip force independent of handle size (for handle diameters from 38 to 83 mm). Normal force and contact area can be explained by the interaction between handle size and hand size. Hand area can be estimated by hand length times width. Application: The quantitative relationships described in this paper can be used in the design of objects and hand tools to determine optimal handle sizes for maximizing grip force, total normal force, or contact area.

Evaluation of ecological interface design for nuclear process control: situation awareness effects.

Abstract: Objective: We determine whether an ecological interface display for nuclear power plant operations supports improved situation awareness over traditional and user-centered displays in a realistic environment. Background: Ecological interface design (EID) has not yet been fully evaluated with real operators facing realistic scenarios. Method: Ecological displays were evaluated alongside traditional and user-centered “advanced” displays in a full-scope nuclear power plant simulation. Licensed plant operators used the displays in realistic scenarios that either had procedural support or did not have procedural support. All three displays were evaluated for their ability to support operator situation awareness. Results: A significant three-way interaction effect was observed on two independent measures of situation awareness. For both measures, ecological displays improved situation awareness in scenarios that did not have procedural support, primarily in the detection phases of those scenarios. No other pron...

Motion sickness and postural sway in console video games.

Abstract: Objective: We tested the hypotheses that (a) participants might develop motion sickness while playing “off-the-shelf” console video games and (b) postural motion would differ between sick and well ...

Situation awareness: understanding dynamic environments.

Abstract: Objective: We present a snapshot of the work on situation awareness, which involves operators' comprehension of the dynamic situation that they are monitoring or controlling. Background: Although human factors has always been concerned with helping the operator in his or her work environment, research exploded in the mid-1990s on one relevant construct, situation awareness. Method: We discuss how a distinction present years ago, the product of comprehension versus the process of comprehension, not only continues today but characterizes different research directions. Research on situation awareness has benefited and can continue to benefit from an analogy to the better understood comprehension of narrative and expository text, although such an analogy between text and dynamic environments will ultimately have limits. Results: Situation awareness as a notion that organizes and focuses research efforts has rightfully spread to research in virtually every industrial domain, and it is an essential part of work...

Articulating the differences between safety and resilience: the decision-making process of professional sea-fishing skippers.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: As the world's most dangerous profession, sea fishing enables discussion of the concept of resilience and its articulation to the notion of safety in complex systems. BACKGROUND: In the small, emerging community working on this concept, the prevailing idea to improve safety is that resilience must be reinjected into the know-how of complex systems. METHOD: Thirty-four male skippers, divided into two groups, took part in an interactive simulation of a fishing campaign. They had to make decisions in situations of trade-off between safety and production goals. RESULTS: From the time they left the harbor, the fishermen never gave up on fishing, even in extreme conditions, and regardless of whether or not the catch was good. Not being suicidal, however, they used multiple expert strategies to reduce risk without giving up on their fishing activity. CONCLUSION: Systems run by craftspeople are very resilient because they rely on a high level of adaptability, based on the actors' expertise, linked to an exposure to frequent and considerable risk. Each actor is responsible for his or her own safety. The final discussion bears on the question of knowing whether or not it is possible to design a safe system while preserving its craftsmanship and therefore its native resilience. APPLICATION: The results of these studies suggest potential adverse effects of classic safety interventions in complex sociotechnical systems either in terms of professional reluctance to accept new recommendations or through the emergence of new sources of risk. Language: en

Postural Instability and Motion Sickness in a Virtual Moving Room

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: We examined motion sickness in an oscillating virtual environment presented via a video projector system. BACKGROUND: Visible oscillation of the physical environment is known to induce both postural instability and motion sickness, but it cannot be assumed that the same phenomena will occur in a virtual simulation of such motion. METHOD: Standing participants (3 men and 9 women, 20-22 years of age) were exposed to oscillation of a virtual room. The stimulus was a computer-generated simulation of a laboratory device that is known to induce postural instability and motion sickness. Participants viewed the simulation for up to 40 min and were instructed to discontinue if they experienced symptoms of motion sickness. RESULTS: Motion sickness incidence (42%) did not differ from that in studies using the corresponding physical moving room. Prior to motion sickness onset, the sick group exhibited changes in movement, relative to the well group, as predicted by the postural instability theory of motion sickness. Differences in movement between the sick and well groups developed over time, in contrast with previous studies using physical moving rooms, in which such movement differences have not evolved. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that changes in postural activity precede motion sickness that is induced by an oscillating virtual environment, but they also reveal differences in postural responses to virtual and physical motion environments. APPLICATION: Potential applications of this research include recommendations for the use of virtual environments as models for perception and action in physical environments. Language: en

Review of a Pivotal Human Factors Article: “Humans and Automation: Use, Misuse, Disuse, Abuse”

Abstract: Objective: This paper considers the influence of “Humans and Automation: Use, Misuse, Disuse, Abuse” and examines how it relates to the evolving issue of human-automation interaction. Background: Automation presents important practical challenges that can dramatically affect satisfaction, performance, and safety; philosophical challenges also arise as automation changes the nature of work and human cognition. Method: Papers cited by and citing “Humans and Automation” were reviewed to identify enduring and emerging themes in human-automation research. Results: “Humans and Automation” emerges as an important node in the network of automation-related papers, citing many and being cited by many recent influential automation-related papers. In their article, Parasuraman and Riley (1997) integrated previous research and identified differing expectations across designers, managers, and operators regarding the need to support operators as a source of automation problems. They also foresaw and inspired research th...

Macroegonomics: work system analysis and design.

Abstract: Objective: Our goal was to briefly describe how macroergonomics was developed to fill a void in human factors and ergonomics. Background: A study commissioned by the Human Factors Society in 1978 resulted in the formalization of a new subdiscipline of human factors, called organizational design and management, which eventually was coined macroergonomics.Method: Differentiators of macroergonomics are presented along with methods adapted from other domains as well as unique methods. Results: Based on laboratory and field studies conducted at multiple universities, government facilities, and industries, work system factors can be manipulated in the laboratory and studied in the field successfully. Also, case studies in academia, industry, and government demonstrate 60% to 90% performance impact and positive qualitative changes such as culture change. Conclusion: Macroergonomics offers a perspective as well as methods and tools for more successful human factors and ergonomics design, development, intervention...

Effects of Simulator Practice and Real-World Experience on Cell-Phone—Related Driver Distraction

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Our research examined the effects of practice on cell-phone-related driver distraction. BACKGROUND: The driving literature is ambiguous as to whether practice can reduce driver distraction from concurrent cell phone conversation. METHODS: Drivers reporting either high or low real-world cell phone usage were selected to participate in four 90-min simulated driving sessions on successive days. The research consisted of two phases: a practice phase and a novel transfer phase. RESULTS: Dual-task performance deficits persisted through practice and transfer driving conditions. Moreover, groups reporting high and low real-world experience exhibited similar driving impairments when conversing on a hands-free cell phone. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that practice is unlikely to eliminate the disruptive effects of concurrent cell phone use on driving. APPLICATION: Multiple regulatory agencies have considered, or are currently considering, legislation to restrict in-vehicle cell phone use. Findings reported herein may be useful to inform these public policy decisions. Keywords: Driver distraction; Language: en

Human Factors of the Confirmation Bias in Intelligence Analysis: Decision Support From Graphical Evidence Landscapes:

Abstract: Objective: This study addresses the human factors challenge of designing and validating decision support to promote less biased intelligence analysis. Background: The confirmation bias can compromi...

Cross-Modal Links Among Vision, Audition, and Touch in Complex Environments

Abstract: Objectives: This study sought to determine whether performance effects of crossmodal spatial links that were observed in earlier laboratory studies scale to more complex environments and need to be considered in multimodal interface design. It also revisits the unresolved issue of cross-modal cuing asymmetries. Background: Previous laboratory studies employing simple cues, tasks, and/or targets have demonstrated that the efficiency of processing visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli is affected by the modality, lateralization, and timing of surrounding cues. Very few studies have investigated these cross-modal constraints in the context of more complex environments to determine whether they scale and how complexity affects the nature of crossmodal cuing asymmetries. Method: A microworld simulation of battlefield operations with a complex task set and meaningful visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli was used to investigate cuing effects for all cross-modal pairings. Results: Significant asymmetric performa...

Looks are (almost) everything: Where drivers look to get information

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe the impact of Rockwell's early eye movements research. BACKGROUND: The advent of a new technology enabling measurements of eye movements in natural environments launched the seminal research of a Human Factors pioneer, Tom Rockwell, into how drivers process visual information. METHOD: In two seminal Human Factors articles -"Mapping Eye-Movement Pattern to the Visual Scene in Driving: An Exploratory Study"(Mourant&Rockwell, 1970) and"Strategies of Visual Search by Novice and Experienced Drivers"(Mourant&Rockwell, 1972)- Rockwell and his student, Ron Mourant, examined drivers' eye movements in naturalistic driving environments. RESULTS: The analyses of the visual fixations revealed systematic relationships between the sources of information the drivers needed to drive safely and the spatial distributions of their visual fixations. In addition, they showed that as drivers gain skill and experience, their pattern of fixations changes in a systematic manner. CONCLUSIONS: The research demonstrated that fixations and saccadic eye movements provide important insights into drivers' visual search behavior, information needs, and information acquisition processes. APPLICATION: This research has been a cornerstone for a myriad of driving-related studies, by Rockwell and other researchers. Building on Rockwell's pioneering work, these studies used eye-tracking systems to describe cognitive aspects of skill acquisition, and the effects of fatigue and other impairments on the process of attention and information gathering. A novel and potentially revolutionary application of this research is to use eye movement recordings for vehicle control and activation of in-vehicle safety systems. Language: en

Everyday Expertise: Cognitive Demands in Diabetes Self-Management:

Abstract: Objective: To assess the relationship between decision making and successful diabetes self-management. Background: Patients with type II diabetes make routine but critical self-management decisions. Method: We conducted cognitive task analysis interviews with 18 patients to examine problem detection, functional relationships, problem-solving strategies, and types of knowledge used to make self-management decisions. We expected that these decision processes would be related to behavioral adherence and glycemic control. Results: Verbal reports displaying problem detection skills, knowledge of functional relationships, and effective problem-solving strategies were all related to better adherence. Problem detection skill was linked to greater glycemic control. Participants differed in declarative and applied knowledge. Conclusion: Diabetes self-management draws on the same cognitive skills found in experts from diverse professional domains. Considering diabetes self-management as a form of expertise may support adherence. Application: Human factors approaches that support professional expertise may be useful for the decision making of patients with diabetes and other chronic diseases.

The Effect of Stimulus Modality on Signal Detection: Implications for Assessing the Safety of In-Vehicle Technology

Abstract: Objective: This study examined the effect of two in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) on signal detection in the visual, auditory, and tactile modalities; established whether the detrimental effects of an IVIS on driving could be quantified by these detection tasks; and examined the effect of stimulus modality on signal detection. Background: The peripheral detection task has been used widely for assessing the effects of an IVIS on driving. However, performance on this task relies on drivers' ability to see a series of LEDs, which can be problematic in field tests (e.g., on sunny days). Method: Participants responded to one of three detection tasks during a simulated driving experiment. The effect of IVIS interaction on these detection tasks was also measured. Reduced performance in the detection tasks was assumed to indicate a decline in drivers' ability to handle sudden events in the driving task. Results: Response time to all detection tasks increased by around 200 ms when drivers performed the IVIS tasks, as compared with baseline driving. Analyses of variance and comparison of effect sizes showed the effects of these two IVISs to be the same across the three detection tasks. Conclusion: These detection tasks are useful for quantifying the safety of an IVIS during driving. The absence of a difference in signal detection by modality suggests that performance on these tasks relies on general attentional resources and is not modality specific. Application: The signal detection tasks employed here should be further investigated for their suitability in assessing the safety of in-vehicle systems.

The Role of Expertise Research and Human Factors in Capturing, Explaining, and Producing Superior Performance

Abstract: Objectives: The goal of this article is to identify some of the major trends and findings in expertise research and their connections to human factors. Background: Progress in the study of superior human performance has come from improved methods of measuring expertise and the development of better tools for revealing the mechanisms that support expert performance, such as protocol analysis and eye tracking. Methods: We review some of the challenges of capturing superior human performance in the laboratory and the means by which the expert performance approach may overcome such challenges. We then discuss applications of the expert performance approach to a handful of domains that have long been of interest to human factors researchers. Results: Experts depend heavily on domain-specific knowledge for superior performance, and such knowledge enables the expert to anticipate and prepare for future actions more efficiently. Training programs designed to focus learners' attention on task-related knowledge and...