7788 Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
Australian Institute of Health Innovation, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
Hum Factors. 2020 Aug;62(5):751-769. doi: 10.1177/0018720819855281. Epub 2019 Jun 25.
To examine the role of cue utilization in the management of interruptions during a high workload, rail control simulation.
High-risk, high-consequence environments are characterized by cognitively demanding, time-critical activities, in which operators are required to manage frequent interruptions under conditions of high workload. Interruptions are deleterious to performance as they impose excessive cognitive demand on limited working memory resources, thereby depleting residual resources for the primary task. Cue utilization may enable superior performance in managing interruptions through efficiencies gained by the application of implicit patterns stored in long-term memory.
Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, 46 university students undertook an assessment of cue utilization and subsequently engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptive tasks. Experiment 2 replicated and extended Experiment 1, wherein 52 university students completed a measure of cue utilization and engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptions and breaks.
The analyses revealed that participants who demonstrated a greater capacity for cue utilization also demonstrated a reduced loss of performance following interruptions.
The outcomes suggest a relationship between a greater capacity for cue utilization and superior performance in the management of interruptions in high workload conditions.
Assessments of cue utilization may assist in the selection and training of operators in high-consequence, high-risk environments, to ensure efficient and accurate performance during the management of interruptions.
在高负荷的铁路控制模拟环境中，检验线索利用在中断管理中的作用。
高风险、高后果的环境以认知要求高、时间关键的活动为特征，操作人员需要在高工作负荷条件下管理频繁的中断。中断对性能有不利影响，因为它们对有限的工作记忆资源施加了过高的认知需求，从而耗尽了主要任务的剩余资源。线索利用可以通过应用长期记忆中存储的隐含模式来提高中断管理的效率，从而实现卓越的性能。
进行了两项实验。在实验 1 中，46 名大学生进行了线索利用评估，随后参与了一项高负荷的模拟铁路控制任务，同时管理多个中断性任务。实验 2 复制并扩展了实验 1，其中 52 名大学生完成了线索利用的测量，并参与了一项高负荷的模拟铁路控制任务，同时管理多个中断和休息。
分析表明，表现出更大线索利用能力的参与者在中断后表现出的性能下降也更小。
研究结果表明，在高工作负荷条件下，更大的线索利用能力与中断管理的卓越表现之间存在关系。
线索利用评估可以帮助在高后果、高风险环境中选择和培训操作人员，以确保在中断管理期间实现高效和准确的性能。
