Time-Interval Emphasis in an Aeronautical Dual-Task Context: A Countermeasure to Task Absorption

We tested a training method intended to prevent unsafe aeronautical behavior (i.e., too much time spent gazing inside the cockpit) induced by the modern cockpit, by teaching individuals to perform a task complementing the see-and-avoid mandatory safety task within a limited time interval.

Aeronautical activities led crews to perform several tasks simultaneously in an ergonomic environment under constant change. See and avoid remains one of the main safety tasks during visual flight. However, modern cockpits induce absorption and impair performance of this safety task. Many laboratory studies showed the relevance of training methods for managing dual-task situations and estimating time intervals.

A specific virtual environment was developed to expose participants to a dual-task situation in which time-interval emphasis was provided in real time. Two types of emphasis training were tested: a permissive one that allowed participants to pursue the inside-cockpit task beyond the time limit and a nonpermissive one that did not.

The best time-interval acquisition, with retention up to 24 hr later, was observed in the nonpermissive condition, but task performances immediately after the training sessions were equivalent across conditions.

Time-emphasis training appears to be an efficient means of promoting absorption resistance while preserving task performance. Transferability of time-interval estimation skills has yet to be tested.

Most areas of application for absorption resistance (aviation, shipping, rail, road, etc.) could benefit from this type of training to manage multitask situations.