Mental workload

Hancock, G.M., Longo, L., Young, M.S. and Hancock, P.A. (2021) Mental workload. In, Salvendy, Gavriel and Karwowski, Waldemar (eds.) Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics. 5 ed. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., pp. 203-226. (doi:10.1002/9781119636113.ch7).

Abstract

This chapter begins with an assessment of the nature and characteristics of mental workload and how people have defined it over the years. It looks at the major techniques, their relative advantages and disadvantages and how they are enacted in practical circumstances in the many operational domains to which they can apply. The chapter examines approaches including some that have fallen out of favor and others which, at the present time represent only candidate proposals which offer a degree of applicational promise. It looks also looks at workload and its assessment in the broader context of humans and their interaction with developing and evolving forms of technology. The chapter considers where workload stands in relation to pressing issues such as human teaming with ever-more autonomous systems. Human cognitive workload assessment might be rather obviated by developments while, interestingly, assessment of computer “cognitive” load may actually burgeon in importance.

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Contributors

Author: M.S. Young

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