Practice Test Geeks(AEP) Associate Ergonomics Professional Practice Test
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Human Factors Engineering Flashcards

7 cards from real AEP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Human Factors Engineering flashcards as text

  1. Which cognitive model describes the human operator as a limited-capacity information processor with sensory, working memory, and long-term memory stores?

    Answer: Atkinson-Shiffrin model

    The Atkinson-Shiffrin model describes human cognition as a three-stage system: sensory register, short-term (working) memory, and long-term memory.

  2. In a process control room, operators must monitor 40 alarms simultaneously. Which human factors principle is most violated?

    Answer: The magical number 7 ± 2 (Miller's Law)

    Miller's Law states working memory can hold approximately 7 ± 2 chunks of information, so monitoring 40 alarms far exceeds cognitive capacity.

  3. A display shows altitude in a non-standard unit unfamiliar to pilots. Which type of mental workload does this primarily increase?

    Answer: Cognitive/translation workload

    Requiring mental unit conversion adds cognitive/translation workload because operators must expend extra resources interpreting the unfamiliar representation.

  4. Ecological interface design (EID) is specifically intended to support which type of behavior in Rasmussen's SRK framework?

    Answer: Knowledge-based behavior

    EID was developed to support knowledge-based reasoning by making system constraints and deep structure visible during novel, unplanned situations.

  5. According to Fitts' Law, doubling the distance to a target while keeping target width constant will:

    Answer: Increase movement time by approximately one bit of information

    Fitts' Law (MT = a + b·log₂(2D/W)) shows that doubling distance increases the index of difficulty by 1 bit, increasing movement time proportionally.

  6. A naturalistic decision-making (NDM) approach, as described by Klein, emphasizes that experienced decision-makers primarily use:

    Answer: Recognition-primed decisions based on pattern matching

    Klein's Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model shows experts rapidly recognize situations as familiar and simulate the first plausible action rather than comparing options.

  7. Which measure is MOST appropriate for assessing operator situation awareness in a complex system?

    Answer: SAGAT (Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique)

    SAGAT is a freeze-probe technique specifically designed to measure all three levels of situation awareness: perception, comprehension, and projection.