Computer-Human Interaction. Cognitive Effects of Spatial Interaction, Learning, and Ability

Abstract

In the contemporary workplace, the design of interfaces has a significant impact on the cognitive demands experienced by operators. Previous approaches to the assessment of these designs have relied on measures of cognitive load to infer the level of cognitive demand imposed. Assessments of cognitive complexity may offer a complimentary measure of the demands of the task as they take into account the inherent nature of the task, rather than idiosyncrasies of the operator. Two studies are reported that examined the information acquisition behavior of pilots in response to a series of simulated flight sequences involving different levels of cognitive complexity. Information acquisition was recorded using an eye tracker. Taken together, the results suggest that assessments of the complexity of a task should be employed as a benchmark in task assessment.