The purpose of this research was to use Multidimensional Scaling techniques to help define the dimensions of subjective workload. Subjects rated the similarity of 16 task elements derived from the CTS performance battery (Shingledecker, 1984). The results of the scaling suggested that two categories of task features were used in making similarity judgements: (1) overall task difficulty and (2) the type of processing required (peripheral vs central). Limitations of the MDS procedure are noted.
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