Examining the Effects of Ecological Models of Situation Displays on Human Cognitive Effort

Abstract

This paper reports on an observational study of cognitive efforts associated with ecological-based situation displays. The major performance measure is an 8-item subjective questionnaire. Participants in the study indicated on a 100-point scale, from zero (poor) to 100 (absolutely useful), their agreement with statements addressing information factors contributing to cognitive effort measurement. Two types of situation displays were compared: scenario and ecotopic displays, respectively. A scenario-based display portrays complete information about a problem context. An ecotopic display presents only local information and adapts to the user's mental model in a problem context. Results revealed that an ecotopic display provides better information filtering and mental model mapping than a scenario-based display (96.53% agreement versus 75.10%). Further, there was no statistically significant difference between ecotopic and scenario-based displays in terms of the user's perception of information integration tasks (t_value = 1.185 versus t_{a = 0.05} = 1.645). Other measures such as decision time, decision accuracy, workload index, and false alarms were observed but not reported in this paper.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Andriole

S. J.

Black

H. H.

Hopple

G. W.

Thompson

J. R.

(1986). Intelligent aids for tactical planning. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-16(6), 854–864.

Benbasat

Dexter

A. S.

(1985). An experimental evaluation of graphical and color-enhanced information presentation. Management Science, 31, 134–1364.

Carroll

J. M.

Olson

M. R.

(1988). Mental models in human-computer interaction. In Helander

(Ed.), Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 45–65). Amsterdam; Elsevier.

Cave

C. B.

Kosslyn

S. M.

(1993). The role of parts and spatial relations in object identifications. Perception, 17, 623–632.

Desanctis

(1984). Computer graphics as decision aids: Direction for research. Decision Sciences, 5, 463–487.

Dicson

G. W.

Desanctis

McBride

D. J.

(1986). Understanding the effectiveness of computer graphics for decision support: A cumulative experiment approach. Communication of ACM, 29, 40–47.

Endsley

M. R.

(1995). Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Human Factors, 37(1), 32–64.

Endsley

M. R.

Smith

R. P.

(1996). Attention distribution and decision making in tactile air combat. Human Factors, 38, 232–249.

Freedy

Johnson

E. M.

(1982). Human factors issues in computer management of information for decision making. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC 12, 437–438.

10.

Geiselman

R. E.

Samet

M. G.

(1980). Summarizing military information: An application of schema theory. Human Factors, 22, 693–705.

11.

Geisleman

R. E.

Thompson

B. L.

Samet

M. G.

(1986). A selection call-up system for managing tactical information on graphic displays. IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-16(6), 901–907.

12.

Gibson

J. J.

(1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

13.

Hammond

K. R.

Hamm

R. M.

Grassia

Pearson

(1987). Direct comparison of the efficacy of intuitive and analytical cognition in expert judgment. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-17, 753–769.

14.

Kirlik Walker

Fisk

A. D.

Nagel

(1996). Supporting perception in the service of dynamic decision making. Human Factors, 38, 289–299.

15.

Lehner

P. E.

Zirk

D. A.

(1987). Cognitive factors in user/expert-system interaction. Human Factors, 29, 97–109.

16.

Logie

Baddeley

Mane

Donchin

Sheptark

(1989). Working memory in the acquisition of complex cognitive skills. Acta Psychologica, 71, 53–87.

17.

Noble

D. F.

(1989). Schema-based knowledge elicitation for planning and situation assessment aids. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 19, 473–462.

18.

Ntuen

C. A.

(1999). An ecological model of situation awareness: What does it mean to battlefield awareness? 3^rd Annual FedLab Symposium (Poster presentation), College Park, MD. (February 2-4).

19.

Ntuen

C. A.

Chi

C-J

McBride

M. M.

Park

E. H.

(1998). Decision support modeling for digital battlefield. In Proceedings Symposium on Human Interaction with Complex systems (155-159). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society.

20.

Ntuen

C. A.

Mountjoy

D. N.

Barnes

Yarborough

P. L.

(1996). Representation of the commanders' heuristic knowledge in a decision support display. In Proceedings of Army Research Laboratory - Federated Laboratory 1st Annual Symposium (I20 - I 27). Adelphi, MD: Army Research Laboratory Publication.

21.

Peterson

C. R.

) (1967) Man as an intuitive statistician. Psychological Bulletin, 68, 29–46.

22.

Rasmussen

(1983). Skills, rules, and knowledge; Signals, signs, and symbols, and other distinctions in human performance models. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-13, 257–266.

23.

Rouse

W. B.

Morris

N. M.

(1986). On looking into the black box: Prospects and limits in the search for mental models. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 349–363.

24.

Shneiderman

(1992). Designing the User Interface (2nd Ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

25.

Smith

Hancock

P. A.

(1995). Situation a wareness is adaptive, externally directed consciousness. Human Factors, 37(1), 137–148.

26.

Sweller

(1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12, 257–285.

27.

Vincente

K. J.

(1992). Memory recall in a process control system: A measure of expertise and display effectiveness. Memory and Cognition, 20, 356–373.

28.

Vincente

K. J.

Christoffersen

Pereklita

(1995). Supporting operator problem solving through ecological interface design IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 25 (4), 529–544.

29.

Woods

D. D.

(1988). Cognitive engineering. Helander

(Ed.), Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (1-43), North Holland: Elsevier Publishers.