Faculty Collaboration Database

Cusp catastrophe models for cognitive workload and fatigue in a verbally cued pictorial memory task. Hum Factors 2012 Oct;54(5):811-25

Date

11/20/2012

Pubmed ID

23156625

DOI

10.1177/0018720812442537

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84867354601 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   32 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate two cusp catastrophe models for cognitive workload and fatigue. They share similar cubic polynomial structures but derive from different underlying processes and contain variables that contribute to flexibility with respect to load and the ability to compensate for fatigue.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive workload and fatigue both have a negative impact on performance and have been difficult to separate. Extended time on task can produce fatigue, but it can also produce a positive effect from learning or automaticity.

METHOD: In this two-part experiment, 129 undergraduates performed tasks involving spelling, arithmetic, memory, and visual search.

RESULTS: The fatigue cusp for the central memory task was supported with the quantity of work performed and performance on an episodic memory task acting as the control parameters. There was a strong linear effect, however. The load manipulations for the central task were competition with another participant for rewards, incentive conditions, and time pressure. Results supported the workload cusp in which trait anxiety and the incentive manipulation acted as the control parameters.

CONCLUSION: The cusps are generally better than linear models for analyzing workload and fatigue phenomena; practice effects can override fatigue. Future research should investigate multitasking and task sequencing issues, physical-cognitive task combinations, and a broader range of variables that contribute to flexibility with respect to load or compensate for fatigue.

APPLICATIONS: The new experimental medium and analytic strategy can be generalized to virtually any real-world cognitively demanding tasks. The particular results are generalizable to tasks involving visual search.

Author List

Guastello SJ, Boeh H, Schimmels M, Gorin H, Huschen S, Davis E, Peters NE, Fabisch M, Poston K

Author

Stephen Guastello BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Analysis of Variance
Catastrophization
Cognition
Fatigue
Female
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Memory
Midwestern United States
Stress, Psychological
Task Performance and Analysis
Time Factors
Visual Perception
Workload
Young Adult