Processing resource demands of failure detection in dynamic systems.
The information-processing channels, proprioceptive versus visual, that are used to detect changes in the response of dynamic systems are investigated using a loading-task methodology. Conditions are compared in which subjects either control the dynamic system (MA mode) or monitor an autopilot controlling the same system (AU mode). Failure detection in these two modes of participation is evaluated when subjects perform the task alone and concurrently with either a tracking loading task or a mental arithmetic-memory loading task. The former task disrupted MA detection but not AU detection, whereas the converse results were obtained with the mental-arithmetic task. The results, interpreted within the framework of a structure-specific resource theory of human attention, suggest that AU detection relies exclusively on processing resources associated with perceptual/central-processing stages. MA detection in contrast relies on separate-processing resources residing in a response-related reservoir.
D001334:Automobile Driving; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis; D011939:Mental Recall; D011434:Proprioception; D014796:Visual Perception