Cognitive Ergonomics & Mental Workload Flashcards

Decision fatigue in the workplace is best described as:

Answer: Deterioration in decision quality after making a large number of decisions over an extended period

Decision fatigue occurs because repeated decision-making depletes mental resources, leading to poorer choice quality, impulsive decisions, or decision avoidance over time.

In cognitive ergonomics, 'chunking' is a strategy that reduces mental workload by:

Answer: Grouping individual pieces of information into meaningful units that can be processed as single items

Chunking consolidates multiple items into a single meaningful unit (e.g., a phone number as one chunk rather than ten digits), reducing the load placed on working memory.

Automation complacency is a cognitive hazard that occurs when:

Answer: Operators over-rely on automated systems and reduce active monitoring, increasing risk of missing failures

Automation complacency develops when perceived reliability of an automated system reduces operator vigilance, creating risk when the system fails or produces incorrect outputs.

How does a 'mistake' in Reason's error classification differ from a 'slip'?

Answer: A mistake involves a flawed plan or intention, whereas a slip involves correct intention but faulty execution

A mistake is a knowledge- or rule-based error where the intention itself is wrong (wrong plan), while a slip is an execution failure despite a correct intention (right plan, wrong action).

The vigilance decrement phenomenon describes:

Answer: A decline in detection performance during sustained, monotonous monitoring tasks over time

Vigilance decrement is the well-documented degradation in signal detection performance that occurs during prolonged monitoring of low-event-rate environments.

Which design feature best supports error recovery in cognitively demanding control environments?

Answer: Reversible actions with clear undo or cancel functions that allow correction without serious consequences

Reversible actions implement error-tolerant design by allowing operators to undo or cancel unintended inputs before they cause irreversible consequences.

Prospective memory in occupational settings refers to:

Answer: The cognitive function of remembering to perform a planned action at a specific future time or triggering event

Prospective memory is the ability to form an intention and remember to execute it at the appropriate future moment—for example, remembering to check a valve setting after completing another task.