Age, altitude, and workload effects on complex performance.

OAM report.PDFTech ReportFAA-AM-83-15DOT/FAA/AM-83/15Air pilotsAltitudeAgeWorkloadPerformance testsSimulationPhysiological aspectsHeart rateUrinalysisFatigue (Physiological condition)Human subject testingUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteMertens, H.W.Higgins, E.A.McKenzie, J.M.Civil Aeromedical InstituteUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONUS Transportation CollectionFifteen healthy men in each of three age groups, 20-29 yrs, 40-49 yrs, and 60-69 yrs, were evaluated regarding complex performance in two altitude conditions (ground level vs. 3,810 m) which were administered during performance testing. Performance was measured during a 3-h test session with the Multiple Task Performance Battery (MTPB) which involved time-shared performance of several flight-related tasks presented in different combinations to vary workload.MTPB tasks consisted of monitoring of warning lights and meters, mental arithmetic, problem solving, visual target identification, and tracking. Heart rate decreased slightly at the 3,810 m altitude in the 60-69 yr group, but increased significantly at altitude in the two younger groups. Both epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion rates were highest in the 20-29 yr group and lowest in the 40-49 yr group. Age related decrements occurred in monitoring tasks, information-processing tasks, and a tracking task involving psychomotor- coordination.Performance differences occurring as a function of age were evident predominantly at moderate and high workload levels. There were no important effects of altitude on performance. Physiological and biochemical responses had little relation to performance. Implications of these findings for future research relating age to pilot performance are discussed