Cognitive Support: Extending Human Knowledge and Processing Capacities

Abstract

The idea of aiding as cognitive support is to offer the user the knowledge he or she is missing. Recently, we developed a design method for aiding that is based on explicit requirements of the human problem solver. This proved to be able to supplement a lack of human knowledge in a statistical analysis task. In this article we extend the aiding concept to time-pressured tasks and we investigate whether aiding can supplement lack of knowledge and capacity under tasks with high mental loading, such as dealing with irregularities in process control. We developed a simulator of the workplace of a railway traffic controller with an aiding function for dealing with irregularities (e.g., a switch getting out of order). Application of the design method proved to be possible for this task. We then conducted an experiment to study effects of the aiding on task performance, mental effort, and learning under low and high task load Mark A. Neerincx is a ps chologist with an interest in the development of B user interfaces that provi e cognitive support; he is a Researcher in the Human-Machine Interface oup of the TNO Human Factors Research Institute in Soesterberg, The Ne t r erlands. H. Paul de Greef is a ps chologist with an interest in cooperative problem solving and agent mo d eling; he is a Researcher in the

Cue Utilization and Cognitive Load in Novel Task Performance

“…The simulated rail task was designed to incorporate specific elements of ecological validity, including the requirement to monitor multiple rail lines simultaneously, the requirement to intervene periodically, and the requirement to intervene within a specified period of time ( Lenior, 1993 ; Neerincx and de Greef, 1998 ; Ho et al, 2002 ; Farrington-Darby et al, 2006 ). Aside from the adjustment of train routes, which is a fundamental task performed by real-world rail controllers ( Neerincx and de Greef, 1998 ), the movement of trains to and from different directions was also captured in the simulation interface.…”

“…The simulated rail task was designed to incorporate specific elements of ecological validity, including the requirement to monitor multiple rail lines simultaneously, the requirement to intervene periodically, and the requirement to intervene within a specified period of time ( Lenior, 1993 ; Neerincx and de Greef, 1998 ; Ho et al, 2002 ; Farrington-Darby et al, 2006 ). Aside from the adjustment of train routes, which is a fundamental task performed by real-world rail controllers ( Neerincx and de Greef, 1998 ), the movement of trains to and from different directions was also captured in the simulation interface. To account for the demands of experimental control, higher level features of real railway control systems such as the connection of track elements to a network ( Berkenkötter and Hannemann, 2006 ) and the determination/ communication of critical incidents ( Farrington-Darby et al, 2006 ) were not incorporated in the simulation task.…”

Measuring Team Knowledge

“…Research has focused on the conceptualization of the construct, and empirical investigations await the development and evaluation of measures of team knowledge. Measures of team knowledge are not simply needed to better understand the underpinnings of effective team performance; in addition, the measures are central to knowledge-intensive applications such as team training programs or the design of knowledge-aiding technologies (e.g., Neerincx & deGreef, 1998;Stout et al, 1996). The con-tent and structure of team knowledge associated with effective team performance can feed directly into the content of training materials.…”

Usability Engineering Guide for Integrated Operation Support in Space Station Payloads

“…For the various development stages-analysis, design, and implementation-the method addresses both development (specification) and evaluation (assessment) issues with a focus on analysis and design (Neerincx & de Greef, 1998). Historically, the operations group within a development team developed procedures, whereas the software group focused on the display development.…”