A Distracted Scientist: The Life and Contributions of John Senders

OBJECTIVE

To provide an evaluative and personal overview of the life and contributions of Professor John Senders and to introduce this Special Issue dedicated to his memory.

BACKGROUND

John Senders made many profound contributions to HF/E. These various topics are exemplified by the range of papers which compose the Special Issue. Collectively, these works document and demonstrate the impact of his many valuable research works.

METHOD

The Special Issue serves to summarize Senders' collective body of work as can be extracted from archival sources. This introductory paper recounts a series of remembrances derived from personal relationships, as well as the products of cooperative investigative research.

RESULTS

This collective evaluative process documents Senders' evident and deserved status in the highest pantheon of HF/E pioneers. It records his extraordinary life, replete with accounts of his insights and joie de vivre in exploring and explaining the world which surrounded him.

APPLICATIONS

Senders' record of critical contributions provides the example, par excellence, of the successful and fulfilling life in science. It encourages all, both researchers and practitioners alike, in their own individual search for excellence.

Cardiac Measures of Cognitive Workload: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to provide an assessment of the impact of workload manipulations on various cardiac measurements. We further sought to determine the most effective measurement approaches of cognitive workload as well as quantify the conditions under which these measures are most effective for interpretation.

BACKGROUND

Cognitive workload affects human performance, particularly when load is relatively high (overload) or low (underload). Despite ongoing interest in assessing cognitive workload through cardiac measures, it is currently unclear which cardiac-based assessments best indicate cognitive workload. Although several quantitative studies and qualitative reviews have sought to provide guidance, no meta-analytic integration of cardiac assessment(s) of cognitive workload exists to date.

METHOD

We used Morris and DeShon's meta-analytic procedures to quantify the changes in cardiac measures due to task load conditions.

RESULTS

Sample-weighted Cohen's d values suggest that several metrics of cardiac activity demonstrate sensitivity in response to cognitive workload manipulations. Heart rate variability measures show sensitivity to task load, conditions of event rate, and task duration. Authors of future work should seek to quantify the utility of leveraging multiple metrics to understand workload.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that assessment of cognitive workload can be done using various cardiac activity indicators. Further, given the number of valid and reliable measures available, researchers and practitioners should base their selection of a psychophysiological measure on the experimental and practical concerns inherent to their task/protocol.

APPLICATIONS

Findings bear implications for future assessment of cognitive workload within basic and applied settings. Future research should seek to validate conditions under which measurements are best interpreted, including but not limited to individual differences.

Can vigilance tasks be administered online? A replication and discussion

Recently, experimental studies of vigilance have been deployed using online data collection methods. This data collection strategy is not new to the psychological sciences, but it is relatively new to basic research assessing vigilance performance, as studies in this area of research tend to collect data in the laboratory or in the field. The present study partially replicated the results of a newly developed online vigilance task (Thomson, Besner, & Smilek, 2016). A sample of 130 participants completed the semantic vigilance task created by Thomson et al. (2016) in a research laboratory setting. The present results replicated Thomson et al. (2016) when nonparametric and corrected signal detection measures were used. We suggest that some vigilance tasks typically performed in the laboratory could be administered online. However, we encourage researchers to consider the following factors prior to studying vigilance performance online: (a) the type of vigilance task, (b) the length of the vigilance task, and (c) the signal detection indices most appropriate for their research. It is quite possible that some analyses may yield significant results, whereas other signal detection measures may not (i.e., parametric indices vs. nonparametric indices vs. "corrected" indices) and this point is discussed further in our article. (PsycINFO Database Record

Training for vigilance on the move: a video game-based paradigm for sustained attention

The capacity for superior vigilance can be trained by using knowledge of results (KR). Our present experiments demonstrate the efficacy of such training using a first-person perspective movement videogame-based platform in samples of students and Soldiers. Effectiveness was assessed by manipulating KR during a training phase and withdrawing it in a subsequent transfer phase. Relative to a no KR control condition, KR systematically improved performance for both Soldiers and students. These results build upon our previous findings that demonstrated that a video game-based platform can be used to create a movement-centred sustained attention task with important elements of traditional vigilance. The results indicate that KR effects in sustained attention extend to a first person perspective movement based paradigm, and that these effects occur in professional military as well as a more general population. Such sustained attention training can save lives and the present findings demonstrate one particular avenue to achieve this goal. Practitioner Summary: Sustained attention can be trained by means of knowledge of results using a videogame-based platform with samples of students and Soldiers. Four experiments demonstrate that a dynamic, first-person perspective video game environment can serve to support effective sustained attention training in professional military as well as a more general population.

Life or Death by Robot?

Although robots are becoming widely known as aids to human success, they are likewise gaining reputations as tools of death. This begs the question of whether robots can be morally programmed. We address this question through discussion of various conceptualizations of robots in society. Using case studies, we highlight the irony of robots functioning both as heroic and hazardous agents. We conclude by assessing whether morality can be designed in robots and present guidelines for designers to attempt such a feat.

The impact of emotions and predominant emotion regulation technique on driving performance

Emotion-provoking stimuli abound on modern roadways. Driving measures, of both longitudinal and lateral control of the vehicle, have been shown to vary based on affective influences. Research, however, has yet to address how drivers' individual techniques to mitigate emotional reactions influence driving performance. To address this issue, the present study featured a dual-task protocol involving simulated driving together with processing of emotionally-valenced images with a focus on different Predominant Emotion Regulation Techniques (PERT): one adaptive strategy (task-focused coping) and one maladaptive style (emotion-focused coping). Dependent measures included mean driving speed and number of lane excursions. Results indicated that pleasant images degraded longitudinal control to the greatest extent, while unpleasant images produced the greatest detriment in lateral control. Additionally, individuals' PERT played a major interactive role in drivers' longitudinal control leading task-focused females and emotion-focused males to adhere more closely to the speed limit; yet, it did not affect their lateral control. Results hold important potential implications for the amount or variety of training necessary for driver licensure to promote and sustain safe vehicle control.

The impact of emotions and predominant emotion regulation technique on driving performance

Emotion-provoking stimuli abound on modern roadways. Driving measures, of both longitudinal and lateral control of the vehicle, have been shown to vary based on affective influences. Research, however, has yet to address how drivers' individual techniques to mitigate emotional reactions influence driving performance. To address this issue, the present study featured a dual-task protocol involving simulated driving together with processing of emotionally-valenced images with a focus on different Predominant Emotion Regulation Techniques (PERT): one adaptive strategy (task-focused coping) and one maladaptive style (emotion-focused coping). Dependent measures included mean driving speed and number of lane excursions. Results indicated that pleasant images degraded longitudinal control to the greatest extent, while unpleasant images produced the greatest detriment in lateral control. Additionally, individuals' PERT played a major interactive role in drivers' longitudinal control leading task-focused females and emotion-focused males to adhere more closely to the speed limit; yet, it did not affect their lateral control. Results hold important potential implications for the amount or variety of training necessary for driver licensure to promote and sustain safe vehicle control.

Action Video Game Players and Vigilance Performance

The current study used a video game-based vigilance task in which participants viewed a dynamic environment filled with objects and elements from a real-world environment. Participants were to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during a “patrol route” through a generic Afghanistan village. There was motivation to compare performance measures between participants who play video games and those who do not due to rising popularity in video game culture and the ubiquitous market on serious games as training platforms. Analysis reveals that action video game players (AVGPs) show significant advantages over non-video game players (NVGPs) as it relates to vigilance performance (i.e. proportion of correct detections, response time, false alarms, etc.). Additionally, workload analysis indicated AVGPs do find certain facets of the task to be demanding (Physical and Mental demand) but overall, AVGPs rate the task lower than NVGPs in terms of total or global perceived workload.

The Effect of Knowledge of Results for Training Vigilance in a Video Game-Based Environment

One of the greatest challenges facing military personnel deployed to combat zones is the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In spite of advances in IED detection technology, one of the best defenses against IEDs is the vigilant Soldier. The present study compares the vigilance performance of those who were provided knowledge of results (KR) during vigilance training, to those who did not have knowledge of results, using a video game-based vigilance task. KR was effective in improving vigilance, both during training and during a subsequent test phase in which no feedback was provided. These results indicate that video game-based methods may be useful for training sustained attention.

The Effect of Video Game Play on Performance in a Vigilance Task

Traditional vigilance research typically employs static stimuli presented in discrete trials within a highly structured laboratory setting with few similarities to operational environments. The current study employs a dynamic video game-based environment in which the vigilance task has crucial elements of real world detection tasks, in this case the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The novel platform for this vigilance task and its similarity to popular video games on the market motivated the current study to compare performance between video game players (VGPs), to non-video game players (NVGPs). The results indicate that, relative to NVGPs, VGPs achieved improved performance on the vigilance task, regardless of whether they received training using knowledge of results (KR).