The increasing complexity of modern aircraft systems places a substantial information processing load on the pilot. This complexity has created a need for alternative methods of non-obtrusive instrument displays. Recent studies indicate dual, independent systems for focal and peripheral vision. In view of non-conscience processing by the far periphery, it follows that the far peripheral visual field would be a possible location for alternate instrument displays. This report is a culmination of two experiments, involving 48 male pilot trainees, that investigated the effectiveness of 3 types of instrument displays during flight in a GAT-1 simulator. Both experiments showed that there was no decrement in pilot performance during a complex instrument maneuver, involving normal and peripheral displays. Subjects were less prone to deviate from a given compass heading using the peripheral display (P < .001). A secondary task (digit canceling) used to simulate secondary tasks involved in actual flight also did not diminish performance across displays. These results are consistent with a dual theory of visual processing and the notion of non-obtrusive prompting.
Recent studies have shown that criterion levels established in training directly affect later performance of subjects on experimental tasks. Approximately 20% of variance can be explained by these criteria. The purpose of this study was to determine if a similar relationship can be found in transfer of training situations. Twenty male Air Force Academy cadets were trained to one of two multiple criteria levels on a difficult flight manuever in a GAT-1 simulator. There was a easy criterion set and a more difficult criterion set. These two sets consisted of holding prescribed performance parameters in heading, vertical velocity, and altitude. After achieving their assigned criterion, all cadets in each of the two groups were then tested on the same task in a GAT-1 simulator, but this time the maneuver had to be performed under turbulent wind conditions. This wind condition served as the transfer task. Half of the cadets in each group had the same criterion in both the training and the transfer task. The other cadets had different criteria in the training and transfer tasks. Thus there were four experimental groups: easy-easy, easy-difficult, difficult-easy, difficult-difficult. One control group had the easy criterion while the other control group had the difficult criterion. There were five cadets in each control group. The dependent measure was the Transfer Effectiveness Ratio (TER), derived from trials of this criterion data. This index is an estimate of the amount of time saved in learning a transfer task when performance is adjusted to that of a control group. Several analyses of various tasks of derived scores yielded significant results, confirming that criterion levels established in training carry over to transfer of training situations. Moreover, the data showed consistency in accounting for 20% or more of the variance.
60 male Ss were randomly placed in one of four groups and learned a range-estimation task. One group learned this task by strictly trial-and-error methods using performance feedback. Group Trial-and-error-verbalization learned by trial-and-error methods but were required to verbalize their perception of target size. Group Cue were given a strong prompt on training trials and no feedback. Group Cue-verbalization were given the prompt and required to verbalize their perception of target size. Verbalization caused a significant decrement in performance on transfer of the learned skill ( p < .01). The Trial-and-error group's performance was significantly better than that of other groups ( p < .001). The decrement in performance caused by prompting and verbalization of this perceprual skill was discussed.
The complexity of modern aircraft systems places substantial information processing loads on the pilot. These loads are exacerbated during periods of cognitive and emotional stress such as during emergency landing situations. Physiological, and behavioral evidence for two human visual systems that may differ in susceptibility to psychological stress suggests the possibility of a natural stress resistant information channel that could be used to input information during stressful flight situations. It follows that the extreme peripheral visual fields could be a possible location for adjunct visual displays that serve to orient expeditiously the pilot's focal vision and attention to critical instrument displays during emergencies or other situations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.