FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
PUBLICATIONS
AVIATION MEDICINE REPORTS

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-94/3

Title and Subtitle: Automation and Cognition in Air Traffic Control: An Empirical Investigation, ADA277057

Report Date: February 1994

Authors: O.U. Vortac, Edwards, M.B., Fuller, D.K., and Manning, C.A.

Abstract: Several investigators have expressed concern that the imminent automation of air traffic control may have negative consequences on cognitive functioning, and ultimately on performance. We investigated these possibilities empirically by comparing normal, conventional air traffic control with an experimental condition designed to resemble an extreme version of automation. Overall, measures of performance were comparable between conditions. Most of the cognitive measures (attentional demands, visual search, recall of flights, recall of flight data) were not impaired by the automation analog. Instead, two prospective measures (prospective memory, planning) showed improved performance.

The prospective memory advantage is particularly surprising given that the automation analog group was unable to manipulate external memory aids. Possible reasons for the prospective memory advantage include a reduced workload which allows the controller to get the necessary information in other ways, and a change in the nature of the task resulting from the "automation" of the strip management module.

Key Words: Automation, Air Traffic Control, Flight Progress Data, Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Applied Psychology

No. of Pages: 21