Hysteresis in Mental Workload and Task Performance

Jansen, Reinier J.; Sawyer, Ben D.; Egmond, René van; Ridder, Huib de; Hancock, Peter A.

doi:10.1177/0018720816669271

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In this experiment, the pupil was able to characterize mental workload according to expectations. A high mental workload within a short time does not cause mental fatigue and thus does not result in a cumulative effect, which is consistent with the conclusions of other studies 28 . Other factors influencing pupil size include anxiety, stress, fatigue, and intelligence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Correlative Evaluation of Mental and Physical Workload of Laparoscopic Surgeons Based on Surface Electromyography and Eye-tracking Signals

Zhang

Liu

Feng

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Surgeons’ mental and physical workloads are major focuses of operating room (OR) ergonomics, and studies on this topic have generally focused on either mental workload or physical workload, ignoring the interaction between them. Previous studies have shown that physically demanding work may affect mental performance and may be accompanied by impaired mental processing and decreased performance. In this study, 14 participants were recruited to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) procedures in a virtual simulator. Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals of the bilateral trapezius, bicipital, brachioradialis and flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscles and eye-tracking signals were acquired during the experiment. The results showed that the least square means of muscle activity during the LC phases of surgery in an all-participants mixed effects model were 0.79, 0.81, and 0.98, respectively. The observed muscle activities in the different phases exhibited some similarity, while marked differences were found between the forearm bilateral muscles. Regarding mental workload, significant differences were observed in pupil dilation between the three phases of laparoscopic surgery. The mental and physical workloads of laparoscopic surgeons do not appear to be generally correlated, although a few significant negative correlations were found. This result further indicates that mental fatigue does markedly interfere with surgeons’ operating movements.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Correlative Evaluation of Mental and Physical Workload of Laparoscopic Surgeons Based on Surface Electromyography and Eye-tracking Signals

Zhang

Liu

Feng

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…In the traffic context, optimal safety requires drivers to prioritize the driving task at all times. This premise is not feasible for police officers, due to the dominant role of radio communication [ 1 , 41 ]. Although Dutch police officers do receive special driving training, they have to learn in the field how to balance between driving and listening.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experimental tasks in our study have been designed to ensure task interference, and consequently, task prioritization. Two continuous tasks have been used, based on observations in the context of police work [ 1 ]: a high speed driving task and an auditory memory task. The self-paced driving task represented police emergency driving.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task Prioritization in Dual-Tasking: Instructions versus Preferences

2016

Self Cite

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The role of task prioritization in performance tradeoffs during multi-tasking has received widespread attention. However, little is known on whether people have preferences regarding tasks, and if so, whether these preferences conflict with priority instructions. Three experiments were conducted with a high-speed driving game and an auditory memory task. In Experiment 1, participants did not receive priority instructions. Participants performed different sequences of single-task and dual-task conditions. Task performance was evaluated according to participants’ retrospective accounts on preferences. These preferences were reformulated as priority instructions in Experiments 2 and 3. The results showed that people differ in their preferences regarding task prioritization in an experimental setting, which can be overruled by priority instructions, but only after increased dual-task exposure. Additional measures of mental effort showed that performance tradeoffs had an impact on mental effort. The interpretation of these findings was used to explore an extension of Threaded Cognition Theory with Hockey’s Compensatory Control Model.

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“…Thus, they need to integrate multiple memories of their recent experience; sometimes this can be done fairly accurately, at other times not. Of course, this integration is also a constructive process that can be disproportionately influenced by workload peaks or deviations from expected workload (and see Hancock 2017;Jansen et al 2016). It further argues that validity of workload measures may be superior in individuals with better episodic memory, and for tasks which contain relatively few stimuli, relative to those for which many events happen during any particular epoch of interest.…”

Section: Divergence: Deficiencies In Measurement Of Subjective Workloadmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do subjective workload scales really measure? Operational and representational solutions to divergence of workload measures

Matthews

Winter

Hancock

2019

Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science

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We examine the continuing use of subjective workload responses to index an operator's state, either by themselves or as part of a collective suite of measurements. Lack of convergence of subjective scales with physiological and performance-based measures calls into question whether there is any unitary workload construct that underpins conscious experience, physiological state and the individual's profile of task-related performance. We examine philosophical and measurement perspectives on the divergence problem, and we consider three possible solutions. First, difficulties in reliable and valid measurement of workload may contribute to divergence but do not fully explain it. Second, workload may be treated operationally: use of specific measures is justified by demonstrating their pragmatic utility in predicting important outcomes. Third, further efforts may be made to develop representational workload measurements that correspond to real empirical phenomena. Application of formal standards for test validity can identify multiple latent constructs supporting subjective workload, including those defining self-regulation in performance contexts. Physiological and performance-based assessments may define additional, distinct constructs. A resolution of the diversity issue is crucial for ergonomics since the invalid application of workload measurement will threaten exposed operators as well as many others who are served by the complex technological systems they control. Relevance to human factors/Relevance to ergonomics theory Workload assessment is important for multiple applications of ergonomics, but subjective and objective workload measures often diverge. Current ergonomics theory fails to explain this divergence. This article provides two possible solutions to this challenge. First, specific workload measures may be treated as operational variables that predict important real-world outcomes. This approach eschews theory in favor of pragmatic utility. It is compatible with emerging "big data" approaches to performance prediction. Second, subjective measures ARTICLE HISTORY

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Hysteresis in Mental Workload and Task Performance

Abstract: An informed arrival at the scene is important in safety operations, but peaks in mental workload should be avoided to prevent buildup of fatigue. Therefore, communication technologies should incorporate the historical profile of task demand.

Cited by 25 publications

References 28 publications

Correlative Evaluation of Mental and Physical Workload of Laparoscopic Surgeons Based on Surface Electromyography and Eye-tracking Signals

Correlative Evaluation of Mental and Physical Workload of Laparoscopic Surgeons Based on Surface Electromyography and Eye-tracking Signals

Task Prioritization in Dual-Tasking: Instructions versus Preferences

What do subjective workload scales really measure? Operational and representational solutions to divergence of workload measures

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