Primary Task Distraction

MAJ Shane GrassLCDR Eric McMullen

Advisor: Dr. Ji Hyun Yang

Basic Construct• People have a limited capacity to divide

attention• At what point does divided attention affect

performance of a primary task? • Officers conducting operational tasks such as

driving a ship or flying an aircraft are often inundated with reports and relevant secondary tasks• Pertinent to primary task• Have the potential to distract, degrading primary task

• Proposal: Investigation into distractions’ effects• May significantly hinder operator perform.• Give the military insight into effective task

completion

Basic Construct

Inter-plane Following Distance

Comments/Questions?

• 7 CRM Principals for Mission Accomplishment• M – Mission Analysis• C – Communication• S – Situational Awareness (SA)• A – Assertiveness• L – Leadership• A – Adaptability / Flexibility• D – Decision Making

• Workload = D + A/F + S + C + M + L• (not Assertiveness)

Inspiration: CRM

Past Research – Car Example

Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. a, & Crouch, D. J. (2006). A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Human factors, 48(2), 381-91.

Other Related Studies• Mulligan, N. W. (2002). Attention and perceptual implicit memory:

effects of selective versus divided attention and number of visual objects. Psychological research, 66(3), 157-65.

• Ratwani, R., & Trafton, J. G. (2010). An eye movement analysis of the effect of interruption modality on primary task resumption. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 52(3), 370-380.

• Steelman, K. S., McCarley, J. S., & Wickens, C. D. (2011). Modeling the control of attention in visual workspaces. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 53(2), 142-153.

• Troyer, a K., & Craik, F. I. (2000). The effect of divided attention on memory for items and their context. Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 54(3), 161-71.

• Wickens, C. D. (2008). Multiple resources and mental workload. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50(3), 449-455.

Comments/Questions?

Pilot Study

• 3 Groups:• A (3) – P X O• B (3) – P O X• C (3) – P O O

Comments/Questions?

Proposed Research• F-18 (C/E)• Distraction:• Traditional• UAV Supervisory

• Feedback:• IV:

• Distractions• DV

• Following Distance• Stick/Throttle • Bio-harness• Feedback (subjective)