Individual Differences in Response to Automation: The Five Factor Model of Personality

    Authors

    J. L. Szalma;G. S. Taylor

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Exp. Psychol.-Appl.

    Keywords

    automation; individual differences; performance; stress; workload; INTERPERSONAL-TRUST; SUSTAINED ATTENTION; MENTAL WORKLOAD; STRESS; PERFORMANCE; HISTORY; Psychology, Applied

    Abstract

    This study examined the relationship of operator personality (Five Factor Model) and characteristics of the task and of adaptive automation (reliability and adaptiveness-whether the automation was well-matched to changes in task demand) to operator performance, workload, stress, and coping. This represents the first investigation of how the Five Factors relate to human response to automation. One-hundred-sixty-one college students experienced either 75% or 95% reliable automation provided with task loads of either two or four displays to be monitored. The task required threat detection in a simulated uninhabited ground vehicle (UGV) task. Task demand exerted the strongest influence on outcome variables. Automation characteristics did not directly impact workload or stress, but effects did emerge in the context of trait-task interactions that varied as a function of the dimension of workload and stress. The pattern of relationships of traits to dependent variables was generally moderated by at least one task factor. Neuroticism was related to poorer performance in some conditions, and all five traits were associated with at least one measure of workload and stress. Neuroticism generally predicted increased workload and stress and the other traits predicted decreased levels of these states. However, in the case of the relation of Extraversion and Agreeableness to Worry, Frustration, and avoidant coping, the direction of effects varied across task conditions. The results support incorporation of individual differences into automation design by identifying the relevant person characteristics and using the information to, determine what functions to automate and the form and level of automation.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied

    Volume

    17

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2011

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    71

    Last Page

    96

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000291759700001

    ISSN

    1076-898X

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