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Abstract:
The amount of complex information that operators of military
equipment are required to process is frequently very high, and may
in some instances exceed their cognitive capacity. The goal of the
study was to investigate the extent to which cognitive overload
affected task performance using two realistic cognitive tasks. The
first was a simulated radar task, requiring the subjects to monitor
a radar screen. The second task simulated activities that aircrew
are required to carry out, and included four components:
psychomotor tracking, gauge monitoring, fuel management and
responding to auditory call-signs. The amount of cognitive
processing required of the subjects was varied for each task, and
was set at three levels: moderate demand (used as the
ëcontrolí condition against which to compare other
levels), high demand and cognitive overload. During each task, the
performance level attained was recorded, including number of
targets correctly detected, tracking error, measures of fuel
management efficiency and number correct responses to auditory call
signs. Response times were also recorded. Physiological measures
likely to be affected by cognitive overload were also recorded
during each task, including the electroencephalogram, eye
movements, heart rate and respiration. The results indicated that
the overload condition resulted in a decrement in performance of
25.0% in the simulated aircrew task, and in the radar task a
decrement of 65.3%.
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