title: Thermal effects on human performance in office environment measured by integrating task speed and accuracy.
abstract: We have proposed a method in which the speed and accuracy can be integrated into one metric of human performance. This was achieved by designing a performance task in which the subjects receive feedback on their performance by informing them whether they have committed errors, and if did, they can only proceed when the errors are corrected. Traditionally, the tasks are presented without giving this feedback and thus the speed and accuracy are treated separately. The method was examined in a subjective experiment with thermal environment as the prototypical example. During exposure in an office, 12 subjects performed tasks under two thermal conditions (neutral & warm) repeatedly. The tasks were presented with and without feedback on errors committed, as outlined above. The results indicate that there was a greater decrease in task performance due to thermal discomfort when feedback was given, compared to the performance of tasks presented without feedback.
authors.affiliation: Department of Architecture, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Building 402, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. Electronic address: lanli2006@sjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Building 402, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wargocki
authors.affiliation: Department of Architecture, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lian
mesh_terms: D004526:Efficiency; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013696:Temperature; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accuracy; Human performance; Speed