FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-80/1

Title and Subtitle: Boredom and monotony as a consequence of automation: A consideration of the evidence relating boredom and monotony to stress

Report Date: February 1980

Authors: Thackray RI

Abstract: As air traffic control becomes increasingly automated, the various implications of this trend should be considered. One of the likely byproducts of highly automated air traffic control systems is an increase in boredom and monotony among controllers as a result of the anticipated reduction in task demands. Boredom and monotony are generally conceded to be negative factors that can have adverse effects on morale, performance, and quality of work.

This paper examines the evidence for yet another claimed effect of boredom and monotony, viz, that these factors are stressors, and that because they are stressors, they may produce effects even more detrimental than those mentioned above. Both laboratory and field studies are examined for evidence of increased neuroendocrine activity during exposure to monotonous or understimulating conditions.

It is concluded that the available data offer no support for the belief that boredom, monotony, or understimulation per se produces the syndrome of stress. However, monotony coupled with a need to maintain high levels of alertness, which might exist if controllers lacked sufficient confidence in an automated system, could represent a combination capable of eliciting considerable stress.

Key Words: Air traffic control, Automation, Boredom, Monotony, Stress

No. of Pages: 16