Introduction to Human Factors Engineering

by Wickens, Christopher D.; Liu, Yili D.; Gordon-Becker, Sallie

• ISBN13: 9780131837362
• ISBN10: 0131837362
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-20
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This book describes the capabilities and limitations of the human operatorboth physical and mentaland how these should be used to guide the design of systems with which people interact. General principles of human-system interaction and design are presented, and included are specific examples of successful and unsuccessful interactions. It links theories of human performance that underlie the principles with real-world experience, without a heavy engineering-oriented perspective.Topics include design and evaluation methods; different systems such as visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular, automated, and transportation; cognition, decision-making, and aesthetics; physiology; and stress, safety, accidents, and human error.An excellent reference for personnel and managers in the workplace.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xvii
Introduction to Human Factors	p. 1
What Is the Field of Human Factors?	p. 1
An Overview of the Book	p. 8
Research Methods	p. 10
Introduction to Research Methods	p. 10
Experimental Research Methods	p. 14
Descriptive Methods	p. 24
Ethical Issues	p. 28
Design and Evaluation Methods	p. 30
Overview of Design and Evaluation	p. 31
Front-End Analysis	p. 37
Iterative Design and Testing	p. 50
Final Test and Evaluation	p. 59
Conclusion	p. 60
Visual Sensory Systems	p. 61
The Stimulus: Light	p. 62
The Receptor System: The Eyeball and the Optic Nerve	p. 66
Sensory Processing Limitations	p. 69
Bottom-Up Versus Top-Down Processing	p. 74
Depth Perception	p. 75
Visual Search and Detection	p. 78
Detection	p. 82
Discrimination	p. 87
Absolute Judgment	p. 89
Conclusion	p. 89
Auditory, Tactile, and Vestibular System	p. 91
Sound: The Auditory Stimulus	p. 91
The Ear: The Sensory Transducer	p. 94
The Auditory Experience	p. 95
Alarms	p. 97
Sound Localization	p. 103
The Sound Transmission Problem	p. 104
Noise Revisited	p. 110
Noise Remediation	p. 112
The Other Senses	p. 116
Conclusion	p. 119
Cognition	p. 120
Information Processing Models	p. 121
Selective Attention	p. 122
Perception	p. 124
Working Memory	p. 128
Long-Term Memory	p. 134
Situation Awareness	p. 144
Problem Solving and Troubleshooting	p. 146
Planning and Scheduling	p. 147
Metacognition and Effort	p. 148
Conclusion	p. 155
Decision Making	p. 156
Definition of Decision Making	p. 157
Decision-Making Models	p. 157
Heuristics and Biases	p. 162
Dependency of Decision Making on the Decision Context	p. 170
Factors Affecting Decision-Making Performance: An Integrated Description of Decision Making	p. 173
Improving Human Decision Making	p. 177
Conclusion	p. 183
Displays	p. 184
Ways of Classifying Displays	p. 185
Thirteen Principles of Display Design	p. 186
Alerting Displays	p. 193
Labels	p. 193
Monitoring	p. 195
Multiple Displays	p. 198
Navigation Displays and Maps	p. 208
Quantitative Information Displays: Tables and Graphs	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 217
Control	p. 218
Principles of Response Selection	p. 219
Discrete Control Activation	p. 221
Positioning Control Devices	p. 222
Verbal and Symbolic Input Devices	p. 227
Voice Input	p. 229
Continuous Control and Tracking	p. 231
Remote Manipulation or Telerobotics	p. 240
Engineering Anthropometry and Workspace Design	p. 243
Human Variability and Statistics	p. 245
Anthropometric Data	p. 248
General Principles for Workspace Design	p. 258
Design of Standing and Seated Work Areas	p. 266
Conclusion	p. 268
Biomechanics of Work	p. 269
The Musculoskeletal System	p. 270
Biomechanical Models	p. 273
Low-Back Problems	p. 276
Upper-Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorders	p. 289
Conclusion	p. 296
Work Physiology	p. 297
Muscle Structure and Metobolism	p. 298
Circulatory and Respiratory Systems	p. 302
Energy Cost of Work and Workload Assessment	p. 308
Physical Work Capacity and Whole-Body Fatigue	p. 314
Conclusion	p. 322
Stress and Workload	p. 324
Environmental Stressors	p. 326
Psychological Stressors	p. 329
Life Stress	p. 333
Workload Overload	p. 334
Fatigue and Sleep Disruption	p. 340
Conclusion	p. 349
Safety, Accidents, and Human Error	p. 351
Introduction to Safety and Accident Prevention	p. 352
Safety Legislation	p. 353
Factors That Cause or Contribute to Accidents	p. 356
Hazard Identification and Control	p. 369
Safety Management	p. 375
Risk-Taking and Warnings	p. 378
Conclusion	p. 382
Human-Computer Interaction	p. 383
The Trouble with Computers and Software Design	p. 385
Software Design Cycle: Understand, Design, and Evaluate	p. 386
Understand System and User Characteristics	p. 387
Design Using Theories and Models	p. 390
Design to Support Mental Models with Conceptual Models and Metaphors	p. 395
Design Using Principles and Guidelines	p. 396
Design of User Support	p. 404
Evaluate with Usability Heuristics	p. 406
Evaluate with Usability Tests and Metrics	p. 406
Information Technology	p. 410
Conclusion	p. 417
Automation	p. 418
Why Automate?	p. 419
Problems in Automation	p. 422
Function Allocation Between the Person and Automation	p. 428
Human-Centered Automation	p. 430
Supervisory Control and Automation-Based Complex Systems	p. 433
Conclusion	p. 435
Transportation Human Factors	p. 436
Automative Human Factors	p. 437
Automotive Automation	p. 455
Public Ground Transportation	p. 458
Conclusion	p. 465
Selection and Training	p. 466
Personnel Selection	p. 467
Performance Support and Job Aids	p. 473
Supporting People with Disabilities	p. 476
Training	p. 477
Training Program Design	p. 487
Conclusion	p. 491
Social Factors	p. 492
Types of Systems	p. 493
Groups and Teams	p. 494
Characteristics of Groups, Teams, and Crews	p. 494
Computer-Supported Cooperative Work	p. 500
Macroergonomics and Industrial Intervention	p. 503
Conclusion	p. 505
References	p. 507
Author Index	p. 573
Subject Index	p. 581
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

We wrote this book because we saw a need for engineers and system designers and other professionals to understand how knowledge of human strengths and limitations, both mental and physical, can lead to better system design, more effective training of the user, and better assessment of the usability of a system. The knowledge and methods to accomplish these goals are embodied in the study of human factors engineering. As we point out in the early chapters, acost-benefit analysisof human factors applications in system design usually provides a favorable evaluation of those applications. Our intention in this book is to focus on the clear and intuitive explanation of human factorsprinciples.We illustrate these principles with real-world design examples and, where relevant, show how these principles are based on understanding of the human's psychological, biological, and physical characteristics to give the reader an understanding of why the principles are formulated. Because of our focus on principles, we intentionally do not spend a great deal of time addressing psychological theory or research paradigms and experiments. We trust that the reader will know that the principles we describe are indeed based on valid research conclusions, and where relevant we provide citations as to where that research can be examined. Also, we do not expect that this will be a stand-alone reference manual for applying human factors in design. Many specific numbers, values, and formulae, necessary for fabricating systems with human limitations in mind, were not included in this text in the interest of space. However, we point to ample references where designers can proceed to find these details. Because of the way we have structured the book, emphasizing design principles and methodologies over theory and research, our primary target audience is the engineering undergraduate, who may well be participating in the design process. Hence we do not assume that the reader will necessarily have had an introductory course in psychology, and so we try to present some of the necessary psychological fundamentals. We also believe, however, that the book will be useful for applied psychology or undergraduate-level engineering psychology courses within a psychology department. This usefulness derives in part, because the book demonstrates how many aspects of psychological science are relevant to the effective design of systems in the workplace and on the highway. Human factors is a growing field. In many small industries, personnel are assigned to the position of human factors engineer why have no formal training in the discipline. Thus we hope that the book will not only reach the academic classroom in both engineering colleges and psychology departments but will also be available as a reference for personnel and managers in the workplace. We believe that the strengths of this book lie in its relatively intuitive and readable style, which attempts to illustrate principles clearly, with examples, and without excessive detail and which points to references where more information can be obtained. We have also tried to strike a balance between presenting the human factors associated with different aspects of human performance on the one hand (e.g., physical limitations, display processing, memory failures) and particularly important domains of current applications on the other. For example, there are separate chapters devoted to the human factors of transportation systems and of human computer interaction. In the second edition, we have not made fundamental changes to content or organization. Professor John Lee of the University of Iowa Industrial Engineering Department has been added as a co-author. He is an expert in automation and highway safety research. In addition to addressing some of the shortcomings of the previous edition, revealed by its users, we have included new sections on a variety of to