School of Aviation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Ergonomics. 2012;55(9):997-1008. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2012.691994. Epub 2012 Jul 17.
Although monotony is widely recognised as being detrimental to performance, its occurrence and effects are not yet well understood. This is despite the fact that task-related characteristics, such as monotony and low task demand, have been shown to contribute to performance decrements over time. Participants completed one of two simulated train-driving scenarios. Both were highly monotonous and differed only in terms of the level of cognitive demand required (i.e. low demand or high demand). These results highlight the seriously detrimental effects of the combination of monotony and low task demands and clearly show that even a relatively minor increase in cognitive demand can mitigate adverse monotony-related effects on performance for extended periods of time. Monotony is an inherent characteristic of transport industries, including rail, aviation and road transport, which can have adverse impact on safety, reliability and efficiency. This study highlights possible strategies for mitigating these adverse effects. Practitioner Summary: This study provides evidence for the importance of cognitive demand in mitigating monotony-related effects on performance. The results have clear implications for the rapid onset of performance deterioration in low demand monotonous tasks and demonstrate that these detrimental performance effects can be overcome with simple solutions, such as making the task more cognitively engaging.
虽然单调已被广泛认为对表现有害，但人们对其发生和影响仍了解不足。尽管如此，与任务相关的特征，如单调和低任务需求，已被证明会随着时间的推移导致表现下降。参与者完成了两个模拟火车驾驶场景中的一个。两个场景都非常单调，只是在认知需求水平上有所不同（即低需求或高需求）。这些结果突出了单调和低任务需求的组合的严重不利影响，并清楚地表明，即使认知需求略有增加，也可以在较长时间内减轻与单调相关的不利影响对表现的影响。单调是包括铁路、航空和道路运输在内的交通行业的固有特征，这可能会对安全、可靠性和效率产生不利影响。本研究强调了减轻这些不利影响的可能策略。从业者总结：本研究为认知需求在减轻与单调相关的表现影响方面的重要性提供了证据。研究结果清楚地表明了在低需求单调任务中表现迅速恶化的重要性，并表明这些不利的表现影响可以通过简单的解决方案来克服，例如使任务更具认知吸引力。
