Research Article

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Aviation Psychology

Background:

• Effective data visualization is crucial for complex tasks like instrument flight.
• Understanding how cognitive load and anxiety affect pilot gaze behavior is essential for safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of anxiety and cognitive load on eye movement planning during an instrument flight task.
• To analyze gaze behavior under varying cognitive load and anxiety conditions within a single-sensor-single-indicator display.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed an instrument flight task under neutral and anxiety conditions.
• A dual-task paradigm included a low or high cognitive load auditory n-back task.
• Eye movements and task performance were recorded and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Increased cognitive load significantly reduced transitions between instruments and impaired flight task performance.
• Self-reported anxiety changes positively correlated with increased randomness in eye movements, but only under high cognitive load.
• Gaze behavior was demonstrably affected by both cognitive load and anxiety.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive load and anxiety are significant factors influencing pilot gaze behavior in instrument flight.
• The findings highlight the need to consider these psychological factors in the design of aviation data visualization displays.
• Future research should further explore these effects to enhance display design and pilot situational awareness.