The Relevance of Attention Control, Not Working Memory, in Human Factors

Area of Science:

• Human Factors
• Cognitive Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Working memory (WM) measures are commonly used in applied psychology but conflate memory storage and attention.
• This mixture complicates the interpretation of WM-task relationships in human factors research.
• Recent research suggests attention control (AC) may be a superior predictor of complex task performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the relevance of attention control (AC) in human factors.
• To explore the utility of AC measures over traditional WM measures for predicting complex task performance.
• To introduce a validated, time-efficient AC measure for applied settings.

Main Methods:

• Review of individual differences in Human Factors.
• Analysis of working memory (WM) measurement and interpretation.
• Introduction and discussion of a novel, validated attention control (AC) measure.

Main Results:

• Attention control (AC) is a high-level cognitive factor crucial for complex, dynamic tasks.
• A validated AC measure predicts significantly more variance in complex task performance than WM.
• The proposed AC measures are brief (10 minutes total) and potentially less culture-bound.

Conclusions:

• Shifting focus from WM to AC can lead to more specific and equitable designs for tasks, interfaces, and training.
• Efficient AC measures enhance understanding of task demands for human factors interventions and performance prediction.