Measures of the air traffic controller are reviewed and critically assessed. There are many reasons for measuring the controller, and no measure can yet be treated as either indispensable or useless. Some of the most successful studies have employed many different measures. There has been a bias toward measuring the controller as part of the system rather than in his or her own right. It has proved difficult to establish adequate measurement criteria because of uncertainty about the relative importance of the factors involved. The development of new measures and the refinement of existing ones may lead to progress. A reinterpretation of the controller's tasks and functions in relation to psychological constructs should be attempted.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baddeley, A. D.The psychology of memory. New York: Harper and Row, 1976.
2.
Bisseret, A.Mémoire operationelle et structure du travail. Bulletin de Psychologie, 1970, 24, 280–294.
3.
Boone, J. O. and Lewis, M.A.The selection of air traffic control specialists: Two studies demonstrating methods to insure an accurate validity coefficient for selection devices. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Report FAA-AM-79-14, 1979.
4.
Brauser, K. and Seifert, R. The future position of the controller. In A. Benoit (Ed.) A survey of modern air traffic control. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: AGARDograph No. 209, 1975.
5.
Buckley, E. P.Development of a performance criterion for enroute air traffic control personnel research through air traffic control simulation: Experiment 1---parallel form development. Atlantic City, NJ: FAA National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center, Report FAARD-75-186, 1976.
6.
Buckley, E. P., O'Connor, W. F., and Beebe, T.A comparative analysis of individual and system performance indices for the air traffic control system. Atlantic City, NJ: FAA National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center, Report FAA-NA-69-40, 1969.
7.
Chiles, W. D. and Jennings, A. E.Time-sharing ability in complex performance: An expanded replication. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Instititute, Report FAA-AM-78-33, 1978.
8.
Cobb, B. B.The relationship between chronological age, length of experience, and job performance ratings of air route traffic control specialists. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Report FAAAM-67-1, 1967.
9.
Connolly, D. W.Voice data entry in air traffic control. Atlantic City, NJ: FAA National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center, Report FAA-NA-79-20, 1979.
10.
Crump, J. H.A review of stress in air traffic control: Its measurement and effects. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, 1979, 50, 243–248.
11.
Dailey, J. T. and Pickrel, E. W.Development of new selection tests for air traffic controllers. Washington, DC: FAA Office of Aviation Medicine, Report FAA-AM- 77-25, 1977.
12.
Evrard, E. Medical problems relating to air traffic control personnel. In A. Benfoĉt (Ed). A survey of modern air traffic control. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: AGARDograph No. 209, 1975.
13.
Henry, J. H., Kamrass, M. E., Orlansky, J., Rowan, T. C., String, J., and Reichenbach, R. E.Training of U.S. air traffic controllers. Washington, DC: FAA Office of Personnel and Training, AD/A-006603, 1975.
14.
Hopkin, V. D. Human factors in the ground control of aircraft. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: AGARDograph No. 142, 1970.
15.
Hopkin, V. D. The controller versus automation. In A. Benoît (Ed). A survey of modern air traffic control. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: AGARDograph No. 209, 1975.
16.
Hopkin, V. D. Colour displays in air traffic control. London: Institution of Electrical Engineers, Conference Publication No. ISO, 1977.
17.
Hopkin, V. D.An appraisal of real-time simulation in air traffic control. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 197879, 7(1), 91–102.
18.
Hopkin, V. D.Mental workload measurement in air traffic control. In N. Moray (Ed). Mental Workload. New York: Plenum Press, 1979.(a)
19.
Hopkin, V. D. Boredom and human reliability---Some hypothesized relationships. Proceedings of the Second National Reliability Conference, Birmingham, England, March, 1979, 4A/3/1-7. (b)
20.
Hopkin, V. D. New work force roles resulting from new technology. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Air Traffic Control Association Fall Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, October. 1979,68-75. (c)
21.
Hopkin, V. D. and McClumpha, A. J. Real-time simulation: An indispensable but overused evaluation technique. In Modeling and simulation of avionics systems and command, control and communications systems. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: AGARD Conference Proceedings No. 268, 1979.
22.
Hurst, M. W. and Rose, R. M.Objective job difficulty. Behavioural response, and sector characteristics in air route traffic control centres. Ergonomics, 1978, 21, 697–708. (a)
23.
Hurst, M. W. and Rose, R. M.Objective workload and behavioural response in airport radar control rooms. Ergonomics, 1978, 21, 559–565. (b)
24.
Johannsen, G. and Rouse, W. B.Mathematical concepts for modeling human behavior in complex man-machine systems. Human Factors, 1979, 21, 733–747.
25.
Jordan, N.Themes in speculative psychology. London: Tavistock, 1968.
26.
Kahneman, D.Attention and effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
27.
Melton, C. E., Smith, R. C., McKenzie, J. M., Saldivar, J. T., Hoffmann, S. M., and Fowler, P. R.Stress in air traffic controllers: Comparison of two air route traffic control centers on different shift rotation patterns. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Report FAA-AM-75-7, 1975.
28.
Melton, C. E., Smith, R. C., McKenzie, J. M., Wicks, S. M., and Saldivar, J. T.Stress in air traffic personnel: Low-density towers and flight service stations. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Report FAA-AM-77-23, 1977.
29.
Mies, J. M., Colmen, J. G., and Domenech, O.Predicting success of applicants for positions as air traffic control specialists in the air traffic service. Washington, DC: Education and Public Affairs, FAA Contract DOTFA75WA- 3646, 1977.
30.
Moray, N. (Ed). Mental workload. New York: Plenum Press, 1979.
31.
Navon, D. and Gopher, D.On the economy of the human-processing system. Psychological Review, 1979, 86(3), 214–255.
32.
Neisser, U.Cognition and reality. San Francisco: Freeman, 1976.
33.
Norman, D. A. and Bobrow, D. G.On data-limited and resource-limited processes. Cognitive Psychology, 1975, 7, 44–64.
34.
Older, H. J. and Cameron, B. J.Human factors aspects of air traffic control. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Contractor Report 1957, 1972.
35.
Parsons, H. M.Man-machine system experiments. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. 1972.
36.
Posner, M. I.Cognition: An introduction. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1973.
37.
Ragan, T. J., Back, K. T., Stansell, V., Ausburn, 1. J., Ausburn, F. B., Butler, P.A., Huckabay, K., and Burkett, J. R. Cognitive styles: A review of the literature. Brooks AFB, TX: Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, Report AFHRL-TR-78-90(I). 1979.
38.
Rohmert, W.Determination of stress and strain at real work places: Methods and results of field studies with air traffic control officers. In N. Moray (Ed.) Mental workload. New York: Plenum Press, 1979.
39.
Rose, R. M., Jenkins, C. D., and Hurst, M. W.Air traffic controller health change study. Washington, DC: FAA Office of Aviation Medicine, Report FAA-AM-78-39, 1978.
40.
Saldivar, J. T., Hoffmann, S. M., and Melton, C. E.Sleep in air traffic controllers. Oklahoma City, OK: FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Report FAA-AM-77-5, 1977.
41.
Siegel, A. 1. and Wolf, J. J. A survey of applied psychological services' models of the human operator. In M. C. Waller (Ed.) Models of human operators in vision dependent tasks. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Conference Publication 2103, 1979.
42.
Sperandio, J.-C.The regulation of working methods as a function of work-load among air traffic controllers. Ergonomics, 1978, 21, 195–202.
43.
Taylor, F. V.Psychology and the design of machines. American Psychologist, 1957, 12, 249–258.
44.
Wetzel, C. D. and Hunt, R. E.Cue delay and the role of rehearsal in directed forgetting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1977, 3(2), 233–245.
45.
Whitfield, D.A preliminary study of the air traffic controller's “picture.”Journal of the Canadian Air Traffic Controllers' Association, 1979, 11(1), 19–28.
46.
Whitfield, D. and Stammers, R. B.The air-traffic controller. In W. T. Singleton (Ed.) The study of real skills: Vol. 1. The analysis of practical skills. Lancaster, England: MTP Press, 1978.
