ERIC Number: ED195892
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1980-Sep
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Performance During the Stress of Processing Overload.
Martin, David W.
Performance becomes degraded when the human processing system undergoes the stress of processing overload. Information processing models are often used to predict how performance will be affected. Single channel models hypothesize that information will either be lost in the queue or processed with delay. Single capacity models predict that for a single task a speed-accuracy function can describe performance, and that for dual tasks performance-operating-characteristic-functions can describe performance. Multiple channel models suggest that any process can be degraded when a channel is overloaded even though other processes could be carried out by other channels. Multiple capacity models predict that speed-accuracy functions and performance operating characteristics can be found for processes that require the same capacities, but, depending upon the capacity requirements of each task, the task can trade off in many ways. The emotional reaction associated with stress may require processing resources and acts like a separate sub-task compounding the overload problem. The type of processing required of operators monitoring system status in automated systems may draw from the same resource pool that supplies resources for dealing with stress. When new strategies are needed to allocate attentional resources, the effects of stress seem to be particularly detrimental. (Author)
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (88th, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 1-5, 1980). Best copy available.