Keywords

Automation, Individual Differences, Attention, Human-Machine Interaction

Abstract

As system automation increases and evolves, the intervention of the supervising operator becomes ever less frequent but ever more crucial. The adaptive automation approach is one in which control of tasks dynamically shifts between humans and machines, being an alternative to traditional static allocation in which task control is assigned during system design and subsequently remains unchanged during operations. It is proposed that adaptive allocation should adjust to the individual operators' characteristics in order to improve performance, avoid errors, and enhance safety. The roles of three individual difference variables relevant to adaptive automation are described: attentional control, desirability of control, and trait anxiety. It was hypothesized that these traits contribute to the level of performance for target detection tasks for different levels of difficulty as well as preferences for different levels of automation. The operators' level of attentional control was inversely proportional to automation level preferences, although few objective performance changes were observed. The effects of sensory modality were also assessed, and auditory signal detection was superior to visual signal detection. As a result, the following implications have been proposed: operators generally preferred either low or high automation while neglecting the intermediary level; preferences and needs for automation may not be congruent; and there may be a conservative response bias associated with high attentional control, notably in the auditory modality.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2006

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Hancock, Peter

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Psychology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001096

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001096

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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