Context Specificity in Performance - The Defining Problem for Human Factors/Ergonomics

Abstract

This report addresses what I believe represents the major unresolved problem confronting the field of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E): context—also termed design—specificity in human behavior and performance. Context specificity implies an intimate interaction, or coupling, between performance and design. The problem of context specificity in performance can be framed in terms of: (1) the difficulties it poses for basic and applied research in HF/E; (2) its relevance to social and organizational performance; (3) underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms; and (4) validity of models of human behavior and performance. Questions addressing these different problem areas are introduced, followed by a series of strategies and conclusions directed at problem resolution. The conceptual perspective adopted here for understanding context specificity is that of behavioral cybernetics, which assumes that task-specific variance in performance occurs as an inevitable consequence of dynamic spatiotemporal feedback interaction between sensory feedback (design) and sensory feedback control (motor behavior).

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