National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the service of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with the general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
The work of the Committee on Human Factors is supported by Department of Army Contract No. DAAD05-92-C-0087 issued by the U.S. Aberdeen Proving Ground Support Activity. The views and opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of Army position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 95-70762
International Standard Book Number 0-309-05276-9
Additional copies are available from
National Academy Press,
2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Box 285, Washington, D.C. 20055. Call 800-624-6242 or 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area).
Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN FACTORS 1990-1994
RAYMOND S. NICKERSON (Chair, 1991-1994),
Bolt, Beranek, and Newman Laboratories (retired), Cambridge, Massachusetts
DOUGLAS H. HARRIS (Chair, 1988-1991),
Anacapa Sciences, Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia
PAUL A. ATTEWELL,
Department of Sociology, City University of New York
M.M. AYOUB,
Department of Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University
JEROME I. ELKIND,
Lexia Institute, Palo Alto, California
PAUL S. GOODMAN,
Center for Management of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University
JOHN D. GOULD,
IBM Corporation (retired), Yorktown Heights, New York
MIRIAN M. GRADDICK,
AT&T Corporation, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
OSCAR GRUSKY,
Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
ROBERT L. HELMREICH,
NASA/UT Aerospace Crew Research Project, Austin, Texas
JULIAN HOCHBERG,
Department of Psychology, Columbia University
WILLIAM C. HOWELL,
American Psychological Association Science Directorate, Washington, D.C.
ROBERTA L. KLATZKY,
Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
THOMAS K. LANDAUER,
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder
TOM B. LEAMON,
Liberty Mutual Research Center, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
HERSCHEL W. LEIBOWITZ,
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
ANN MAJCHRZAK,
Human Factors Department, University of Southern California
NEVILLE P. MORAY,
PERCOTEC-LAMIH (Laboratory for Automation, Mechanical, Industrial and Human Engineering), Université de Valenciennes, France
WILLIAM B. ROUSE (Chair-Elect, 1994-1997),
Search Technology, Inc., Norcross, Georgia
JOYCE L. SHIELDS,
HAY Management Consultants, Arlington, Virginia
LAWRENCE W. STARK,
School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley
CHRISTOPHER D. WICKENS,
Aviation Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Savoy
ROBERT C. WILLIGES,
Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
J. FRANK YATES,
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
LAURENCE R. YOUNG,
Man Vehicle Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ANNE S. MAVOR, Study Director
HAROLD P. VAN COTT, Principal Staff Officer (until 1992)
BEVERLY M. HUEY, Senior Staff Officer
JERRY KIDD, Senior Adviser
EVELYN E. SIMEON, Senior Project Assistant
CONTRIBUTORS TO PART II
PAUL A. ATTEWELL, Department of Sociology, City University of New York
M.M. AYOUB, Department of Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University
JOSEPH B. CAVALLARO, HAY Management Consultants, Arlington, Virginia
JEROME I. ELKIND, Lexia Institute, Palo Alto, California
PAUL S. GOODMAN, Center for Management of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University
JOHN D. GOULD, IBM Corporation (retired), Yorktown Heights, New York
DOUGLAS H. HARRIS, Anacapa Sciences, Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia
ROBERT L. HELMREICH, NASA/UT Aerospace Crew Research Project, Austin, Texas
BEVERLY M. HUEY, Committee on Human Factors, National Research Council
ROBERTA L. KLATZKY, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
HERSCHEL W. LEIBOWITZ, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
NEVILLE P. MORAY, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
RAYMOND S. NICKERSON, Bolt, Beranek, and Newman Laboratories (retired), Cambridge, Massachusetts
D. ALFRED OWENS, Whitely Psychology Laboratory, Franklin and Marshall College
PENELOPE M. SANDERSON, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
KAREN SEIDLER, U.S. West Advanced Technologies, Denver, Colorado
JOYCE L. SHIELDS, HAY Management Consultants, Arlington, Virginia
HAROLD P. VAN COTT, Committee on Human Factors, National Research Council (retired)
CHRISTOPHER D. WICKENS, Aviation Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Savoy
ROBERT C. WILLIGES, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
J. FRANK YATES, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
CAROLYNN A. YOUNG, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan (deceased)
Note: Affiliations current as of the report preparation period.
Preface
The Committee on Human Factors was established in October 1980 by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The principal objectives of the committee are to provide new perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, to identify basic research needed to expand and strengthen the scientific basis of human factors, and to attract scientists inside and outside the field for interactive communication and performance of needed research.
Human factors issues arise in every domain in which humans interact with the products of a technological society. To perform its role effectively, the committee draws on experts from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Members of the committee include specialists in such fields as psychology, engineering, biomechanics, physiology, medicine, cognitive sciences, machine intelligence, computer sciences, sociology, education, and human factors engineering. Other disciplines are represented in the working groups, workshops, and symposia organized by the committee. Each of these disciplines contributes to the basic data, theory, and methods required to improve the scientific basis of human factors.
Since its inception in 1980, the Committee on Human Factors has issued more than a dozen reports regarding the state of knowledge and research needs on topics deemed important by the committee and its sponsors. This report is the product of a committee-initiated project. It identifies major problem areas in which human factors research can make an important contribution during the next few decades. Part I provides the committee's recommendations and conclusions. These conclusions are drawn from the
background papers prepared by committee members, staff, and their colleagues and included in Part II of the report. The committee list is a complete membership roster covering the report preparation time. During this time, some members completed their terms and new members were added.
Throughout the project the committee received encouragement and support from a variety of sources. In particular, we would like to express our gratitude to our sponsors for their continuing interest and important insights. The sponsors include: the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Air Force Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, the Army Advanced Systems Research Office, the Army Human Engineering Laboratory, the Army Natick RD&E Center, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Naval Training Systems Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The committee would also like to thank staff of the National Research Council for their important contributions to our work. Harold P. Van Cott, study director until his retirement in 1992, was involved in shaping the early planning stages; Beverly M. Huey, acting study director from 1992 to 1994, supported the committee through its deliberations and the many stages of report drafting; and Anne Mavor, the current study director, helped bring the project to a successful conclusion. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge Barbara White for her fine editorial contribution and Evelyn Simeon for her excellent administrative assistance and hard work on the manuscript.
Raymond S. Nickerson, Chair 1991-1994
Committee on Human Factors
