Methodology in the assessment of complex performance : the effects of signal rate on monitoring a static process.

PDFTech ReportAM 69-16DOT/FAA/AM-69/16AviationFlight personnelSignalsMonitoringReaction timeInformation display systemsStatic testsPerformance testsMethodologyReliability (Statistics)Warning signalsProbabilityArithmeticProblem solvingCooperationDetection and identificationExperimentsAlertnessAttentionSignal lightsMean (Statistics)Air traffic controllersAir pilotsEquipmentBias (Statistics)Hypothesis testingHuman subject testingUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteChiles, W. DeanBruni, Cheryl B.Lewis, Robert A.United States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsUS Transportation CollectionThis study concerned the rate of presentation of stimuli on a task involving the monitoring of a static process of the kind represented by aircraft warning light indicators. The task was performed concurrently with various combinations of tasks requiring the exercise of psychological functions representative of the demands placed on the human operator in aviation operations. The signal rates used were: 10.3 signals/hour, 17 signals/hour, and 22.5 signals/hour.The only task for which performance varied significantly across the three rates of signal presentation was the task requiring the monitoring of a dynamic process; performance of this task was facilitated by the highest rate of signal presentation on the static monitoring task. The two faster rates of signal presentation were found to yield more reliable measures of static monitoring performance than the lower rate