Cue Utilization and Cognitive Load in Novel Task Performance

The roles of phishing knowledge, cue utilization, and decision styles in phishing email detection

This study investigated the roles of phishing knowledge, cue utilization, and decision styles in contributing to phishing email detection. Participants (N = 145) completed an online email sorting task, and measures of phishing knowledge, email decision styles, cue utilization, and email security awareness. Cue utilization was the only factor that uniquely predicted the capacity to discriminate phishing from genuine emails. Phishing knowledge was associated with greater phishing detection and a bias towards classifying all emails as phishing. A preference for intuitive decision making predicted lower detection of phishing emails, driven by a greater tendency to classify emails as genuine. These findings support the proposition that cue utilization is a distinct cognitive process that enables expert performance. The outcomes indicate that, in addition to increasing phishing knowledge and developing safe behavioral patterns, anti-phishing training needs to provide opportunities for trainees to develop meaningful cue associations.

Individual differences in selective attention and engagement shape students’ learning from visual cues and instructor presence during online lessons

Although some researchers recommend minimizing extraneous visual information in multimedia lessons, others have demonstrated that features such as visual cues and instructor videos can enhance learning. However, variability in selective attention skills may influence students’ ability to benefit from these additional features. This study investigated links between college students’ selective attention skills and their learning from video lessons that varied in the use of visual cues and the instructor video. Learning outcomes depended on both the visual features available and students’ effort and selective attention skills. Among students who reported increased effort during the lessons, those with more efficient selective attention benefited most when a single additional feature (i.e., either visual cues or the instructor video) was used. All students, regardless of attention skills, benefited when both visual cues and the instructor were combined. These findings suggest that learning during multimedia lessons may depend on the visual features of the lessons and the student’s effort and attention skills.

The role of cue utilization in the detection of phishing emails

This study was designed to examine the roles of cue utilization, phishing features and time pressure in the detection of phishing emails. During two experiments, participants completed an email sorting task containing both phishing and genuine emails. Participants were allocated to either a high or low time pressure condition. Performance was assessed via detection sensitivity and response bias. Participants were classified with either higher or lower cue utilization and completed a measure of phishing knowledge. When participants were blind to the nature of the study (N = 191), participants with higher cue utilization were better able to discriminate phishing from genuine emails. However, they also recorded a stronger bias towards classifying emails as phishing, compared to participants with lower cue utilization. When notified of phishing base rates prior to the email sorting task (N = 191), participants with higher cue utilization were better able to discriminate phishing from genuine emails without recording an increase in rate of false alarms, compared to participants with lower cue utilization. Sensitivity increased with a reduction in time pressure, while response bias was influenced by the number of phishing-related features in each email. The outcomes support the proposition that cue-based processing of critical features is associated with an increase in the capacity of individuals to discriminate phishing from genuine emails, above and beyond phishing-related knowledge. From an applied perspective, these outcomes suggest that cue-based training may be beneficial for improving detection of phishing emails.

Explaining emergency physicians' capacity to recover from interruptions

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether the capacity to utilize cues amongst emergency physicians is associated with differences in the capacity to recover performance following an interruption.

BACKGROUND

Interruptions are implicated in errors in emergency medicine due to the cognitive load that they impose on working memory, resulting in a loss of performance on the primary task. The utilization of cues is associated with a reduction in cognitive load during the performance of a task, thereby enabling the allocation of residual resources that mitigates the loss of performance following interruptions.

METHOD

Thirty-nine emergency physicians, recruited at a medical conference, completed an assessment of cue utilization (EXPERTise 2.0) and an online simulation (Septris) that involved the management of patients presenting with sepsis. During the simulation, physicians were interrupted and asked to check a medication order. Task performance was assessed using scores on Septris, with points awarded for the accurate management of patients.

RESULTS

Emergency physicians with higher cue utilization recorded significantly higher scores on the simulation task following the interruption, compared to physicians with lower cue utilization (p = .028).

CONCLUSION

The results confirm a relationship between cue utilization and the recovery of performance following an interruption. This is likely due to the advantages afforded by associated reductions in cognitive load.

APPLICATION

Assessments of cue utilization may assist in the development of interventions to support clinicians in interruptive environments.

Respiratory Responses to Two Voice Interventions for Parkinson's Disease

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the respiratory strategies used by persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) to support louder speech in response to two voice interventions. Contrasting interventions were selected to investigate the role of internal and external cue strategies on treatment outcomes. LSVT LOUD, which uses an internal cueing framework, and the SpeechVive prosthesis, which employs an external noise cue to elicit louder speech, were studied.

METHOD

Thirty-four persons with hypophonia secondary to idiopathic PD were assigned to one of three groups: LSVT LOUD (n = 12), SpeechVive (n = 12), or a nontreatment clinical control (n = 10). The LSVT LOUD and SpeechVive participants received 8 weeks of voice intervention. Acoustic and respiratory kinematic data were simultaneously collected at pre-, mid- and posttreatment during a monologue speech sample. Intervention outcomes included sound pressure level (SPL), utterance length, lung volume initiation, lung volume termination, and lung volume excursion.

RESULTS

As compared to controls, the LSVT LOUD and SpeechVive participants significantly increased SPL at mid- and posttreatment, thus confirming a positive intervention effect. Treatment-related changes in speech breathing were further identified, including significantly longer utterance lengths (syllables per breath group) at mid- and posttreatment, as compared to pretreatment. The respiratory strategies used to support louder speech varied by group. The LSVT LOUD participants terminated lung volume at significantly lower levels at mid- and posttreatment, as compared to pretreatment. This finding suggests the use of greater expiratory muscle effort by the LSVT LOUD participants to support louder speech. Participants in the SpeechVive group did not significantly alter their respiratory strategies across the intervention period. Single-subject effect sizes highlight the variability in respiratory strategies used across speakers to support louder speech.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides emerging evidence to suggest that the LSVT LOUD and SpeechVive therapies elicit different respiratory adjustments in persons with PD. The study highlights the need to consider respiratory function when addressing voice targets in persons with PD.

Investigating Cognitive Load in Energy Network Control Rooms: Recommendations for Future Designs

This study analyzed and explored the cognitive load of Australian energy market operators managing one of the longest inter-connected electrical networks in the world. Each operator uses a workstation with seven screens in an active control room environment, with a large coordination screen to show information and enable collaboration between different control centers. Cognitive load was assessed during both training scenarios and regular control room operations via the integration of subjective and physiological measures. Eye-tracking glasses were also used to analyze the operators gaze behavior. Our results indicate that different events (normal or unexpected), different participants for the same session, and different periods of one session all have varying degrees of cognitive load. The system design was observed to be inefficient in some situations and to have an adverse affect on cognitive load. In critical situations for instance, operator collaboration was high and the coordination screen was used heavily when collaborating between two control centers, yet integration with the system could be improved. Eye tracking data analysis showed that the layout of applications across the seven screens was not optimal for many tasks. Improved layout strategies, potential combination of applications, redesigning of certain applications, and linked views are all recommended for further exploration in addition to improved integration of procedures and linking alarms to visual cues.

Cue utilisation reduces the impact of response bias in histopathology

Histopathologists make diagnostic decisions that are thought to be based on pattern recognition, likely informed by cue-based associations formed in memory, a process known as cue utilisation. Typically, the cases presented to the histopathologist have already been classified as 'abnormal' by clinical examination and/or other diagnostic tests. This results in a high disease prevalence, the potential for 'abnormality priming', and a response bias leading to false positives on normal cases. This study investigated whether higher cue utilisation is associated with a reduction in positive response bias in the diagnostic decisions of histopathologists. Data were collected from eighty-two histopathologists who completed a series of demographic and experience-related questions and the histopathology edition of the Expert Intensive Skills Evaluation 2.0 (EXPERTise 2.0) to establish behavioural indicators of context-related cue utilisation. They also completed a separate, diagnostic task comprising breast histopathology images where the frequency of abnormality was manipulated to create a high disease prevalence context for diagnostic decisions relating to normal tissue. Participants were assigned to higher or lower cue utilisation groups based on their performance on EXPERTise 2.0. When the effects of experience were controlled, higher cue utilisation was specifically associated with a greater accuracy classifying normal images, recording a lower positive response bias. This study suggests that cue utilisation may play a protective role against response biases in histopathology settings.

Drivers' Cue Utilization Predicts Cognitive Resource Consumption During a Simulated Driving Scenario

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to examine whether cue utilization differentiates drivers' consumption of cognitive resources during a simulated driving task.

BACKGROUND

Outcomes from previous research have demonstrated that a general capacity for cue utilization differentiates cognitive load during novel process control tasks. However, it was previously unclear whether similar results would be demonstrated during familiar operational tasks.

METHOD

Based on an assessment of cue utilization within a driving context, participants were classified into higher or lower cue utilization typologies. During a simulated driving task, cognitive load was assessed through changes against baseline in cerebral oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex, through eye behavior metrics (fixation rates and fixation dispersion), and through driving performance (frequency of missed traffic signals and speed exceedances).

RESULTS

Drivers with higher cue utilization recorded smaller mean fixation dispersions, smaller increases in cerebral oxygenation, and fewer missed traffic signals compared with drivers with lower cue utilization. These results suggest that compared with drivers with lower cue utilization, drivers with higher cue utilization experienced lower cognitive load during the simulated driving task while maintaining a higher level of performance.

CONCLUSION

The results provide support for the assertion that, among qualified operators, a greater capacity for cue utilization is associated with lower cognitive load during operational tasks.

APPLICATION

Cue-based assessments of driving may be beneficial in predicting performance and assisting in targeted training for recently qualified and/or older drivers.

The effect of expertise, target usefulness and image structure on visual search

Experts outperform novices on many cognitive and perceptual tasks. Extensive training has tuned experts to the most relevant information in their specific domain, allowing them to make decisions quickly and accurately. We compared a group of fingerprint examiners to a group of novices on their ability to search for information in fingerprints across two experiments-one where participants searched for target features within a single fingerprint and another where they searched for points of difference between two fingerprints. In both experiments, we also varied how useful the target feature was and whether participants searched for these targets in a typical fingerprint or one that had been scrambled. Experts more efficiently located targets when searching for them in intact but not scrambled fingerprints. In Experiment 1, we also found that experts more efficiently located target features classified as more useful compared to novices, but this expert-novice difference was not present when the target feature was classified as less useful. The usefulness of the target may therefore have influenced the search strategies that participants used, and the visual search advantages that experts display appear to depend on their vast experience with visual regularity in fingerprints. These results align with a domain-specific account of expertise and suggest that perceptual training ought to involve learning to attend to task-critical features.

The development and validation of a short-duration sustained visual search task for process control environments

This study was designed to validate a short-duration sustained visual search task for the assessment of sustained attention in process control environments. The task consists of 10 short dynamic scenarios, which require participants (N = 121) to monitor simulated operating power transmission interfaces, and identify system faults. A vigilance decrement was demonstrated throughout the sustained visual search task, as evident in increased response latencies and decreased accuracy over time. Further, changes in response latency throughout the sustained visual search task were positively associated with changes in response latency during a 30-min, low signal probability task, a 45-min low signal probability task, and a 45-min high signal probability task. The findings indicate that the sustained visual search task may be a valid alternative to a longer-duration process control task for experimental studies, and is likely to be of value for assessments of the capacity for sustained attention of operators in process control environments.

Cross-task cue utilisation and situational awareness in learning to manage a simulated rail control task

Cue utilisation and situational awareness share similar properties since both constructs are dependent upon the application of feature-event associations in memory. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which cue utilisation and situational awareness contribute to learning a simplified, simulated rail control task incorporating an implicit pattern of train movements. Fifty-five undergraduate students completed an assessment of cue utilisation prior to completing the rail control task during periods of lower and higher task demands. Situational awareness was assessed using Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) queries. The results indicated that, while both cue utilisation and situational awareness were related to the detection of the implicit pattern of train movements, they contributed separately to performance on the simulated rail control task. The outcomes suggest that cue utilisation and situational awareness may be separate constructs, where cue utilisation constitutes a capacity variable that is associated with changes in response to task demand and situational awareness constitutes an outcome variable that emerges through task exposure.

Cue Utilization Differentiates Performance in the Management of Interruptions

OBJECTIVE

To examine the role of cue utilization in the management of interruptions during a high workload, rail control simulation.

BACKGROUND

High-risk, high-consequence environments are characterized by cognitively demanding, time-critical activities, in which operators are required to manage frequent interruptions under conditions of high workload. Interruptions are deleterious to performance as they impose excessive cognitive demand on limited working memory resources, thereby depleting residual resources for the primary task. Cue utilization may enable superior performance in managing interruptions through efficiencies gained by the application of implicit patterns stored in long-term memory.

METHOD

Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, 46 university students undertook an assessment of cue utilization and subsequently engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptive tasks. Experiment 2 replicated and extended Experiment 1, wherein 52 university students completed a measure of cue utilization and engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptions and breaks.

RESULTS

The analyses revealed that participants who demonstrated a greater capacity for cue utilization also demonstrated a reduced loss of performance following interruptions.

CONCLUSION

The outcomes suggest a relationship between a greater capacity for cue utilization and superior performance in the management of interruptions in high workload conditions.

APPLICATION

Assessments of cue utilization may assist in the selection and training of operators in high-consequence, high-risk environments, to ensure efficient and accurate performance during the management of interruptions.

Cue utilisation predicts control room operators' performance in a sustained visual search task

This research was designed to determine whether qualified practitioners' cue utilisation is predictive of their performance during a sustained visual search task in an operational context. Australian Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP) operators were recruited for two experiments, and were classified with either higher or lower cue utilisation based on an assessment of cue utilisation within the context of power distribution. Operators' performance was assessed using a domain-related sustained visual search task. In both experiments, power distribution operators with higher cue utilisation demonstrated shorter mean response latencies during the sustained visual search task, compared to operators with lower cue utilisation. Further, no differences in accuracy based on cue utilisation were observed during the sustained visual search task. The results are consistent with the proposition that power operators with higher cue utilisation have a greater capacity to sustain visual search during domain-related tasks, compared to operators with lower cue utilisation. Practitioner summary: Power distribution system operators' cue utilisation was used to predict performance during a domain-related sustained visual search task. Power distribution operators with higher cue utilisation demonstrated shorter mean response latencies during the sustained visual search task, but no differences in accuracy, compared to operators with lower cue utilisation. Abbreviations: DNSP: distribution network service provider; EXPERTise 2.0: EXPERT intensive skills evaluation; FAT: feature association task; FDT: feature discrimination task; FIT: feature identification task; fNIRS: functional near infrared spectroscopy; FPT: feature prioritisation task; FRT: feature recognition task; SCADA: supervisory control and data acquisition.

Higher social cue utilisation improves communication, reduces perceived workload, and improves performance amongst ad hoc dyads in simulated rail control

The objective was to examine whether ad hoc dyads with different collective social cue utilisation would record differences in performance and perceptions of workload during a simulated rail control task that incorporated distinct levels of demand. The frequency of two types of communicative statements was also examined as mediating factors: closing the loop and informative responding. A quasi-experimental design was employed using 40 dyadic teams. The results indicated that ad hoc teams whose members comprised higher social cue utilisation recorded relatively faster response times and perceived lower levels of workload, and engaged in a greater frequency of communicative statements that involved 'closing the loop' and 'informative responses'. Social cue utilisation also exerted an indirect effect on perceived workload through informative responding. The outcomes have theoretical implications for models of ad hoc team performance, and practical implications for the selection and training of teams that operate on an ad hoc basis. Practitioner summary: This study indicates that, in the context of simulation tasks requiring teamwork, higher social cue utilisation amongst ad hoc team members is associated with communication, workload perception, and overall performance.

Higher cue utilization in driving supports improved driving performance and more effective visual search behaviors

INTRODUCTION

Once qualified, drivers rarely receive objective feedback concerning their performance. This is especially the case in the context of cognitive skills such as situation assessment. The aim of this study was to test the construct validity of an online assessment of motor-vehicle driver cue utilization that forms the foundation for situation assessment.

METHOD

Seventy-one undergraduate Psychology students with broadly comparable driving experience completed a motor-vehicle driving version of EXPERTise 2.0, an online tool that enables inferences concerning the utilization of cues based on responses to task-related stimuli. They also completed a simulated driving task while fitted with an eye tracking device, during which a range of hazards were presented with participants' responses recorded.

RESULTS

The results indicated that higher cue utilization was associated with fewer driving errors and collisions, fewer visual fixations, and fewer saccades in comparison to participants with lower cue utilization.

CONCLUSION

The results provide support for the construct validity of EXPERTise 2.0 as an effective measure of cue utilization in the context of driving.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Providing comparative feedback to drivers concerning their development of situation assessment skills may provide opportunities for further training and development, thereby reducing the likelihood of motor-vehicle accidents.

Control Room Operators' Cue Utilization Predicts Cognitive Resource Consumption During Regular Operational Tasks

This study was designed to examine whether qualified practitioners’ cue utilization is predictive of their sustained attention performance during regular operational tasks. Simulated laboratory studies have demonstrated that cue utilization differentiates cognitive load during process control tasks. However, it was previously unclear whether similar results would be demonstrated with qualified practitioners during familiar operational tasks. Australian distribution network service provider (DNSP) operators were classified with either higher or lower cue utilization based on an assessment of cue utilization within the context of electrical power distribution. During two, 20-min periods of operators’ regular workdays, physiological measures of workload were assessed through changes in cerebral oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex compared to baseline, and through eye behavior metrics (fixation rates, saccade amplitude, and fixation dispersion). The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in eye behavior metrics, based on levels of cue utilization. However, as hypothesized, during both sessions, operators with higher cue utilization demonstrated smaller increases in cerebral oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex from baseline, compared to operators with lower cue utilization. The results are consistent with the proposition that operators with higher cue utilization experience lower cognitive load during periods of regular activity during their workday, compared to operators with lower cue utilization. Assessments of cue utilization could help identify operators who are better able to sustain attention during regular operational tasks, as well as those who may benefit from cue-based training interventions.

The Potential Role of Context-Related Exposure in Explaining Differences in Water Safety Cue Utilization

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether differences in water safety-related cue utilization might be associated with differences in exposure to water-related recreational contexts.

BACKGROUND

A disproportionate number of incidents of drowning were attributable to recent visitors to New South Wales in the 2016-2017 summer swimming season. This was due to their assumed lack of exposure to the water-related recreational settings in which Australians engage and therefore, the absence of cues that are associated with danger.

METHOD

In Study 1, the water safety cue utilization of 101 Australian residents and 328 recent visitors to the country was compared using the Expert Intensive Skills Evaluation (EXPERTise 2.0) program. Accounting for differences between the samples, Australian residents demonstrated significantly superior water safety cue utilization. In Study 2, the water safety cue utilization of a sample of 219 Australian residents was examined, the outcomes of which indicated that those participants who learned to swim before the age of 11 years demonstrated superior water safety cue utilization to participants who learned to swim at a later age.

RESULTS

Overall, the results suggest that there are individual differences in water safety cue utilization that are explained, in part, by differences in country of residence and the age at which participants first learned to swim.

CONCLUSION

Water safety cue utilization is likely to be dependent upon exposure to water-related activities. Identifying individual differences enables the development of more targeted, drowning-prevention strategies.

Cross-task cue utilisation and situational awareness in simulated air traffic control

OBJECTIVE

To examine the role of cross-task cue utilisation in the acquisition of situational awareness during the initial stages of learning to operate an air traffic control simulation.

BACKGROUND

Cue-based associations are an important component of situational awareness, a construct that is necessary for skilled process control, where the location, movement, and direction of multiple targets needs to be managed. However, the potential for high levels of situational awareness is difficult to assess in the absence of exposure. Previous research suggests that cross-task cue utilisation predicts the acquisition of feature-event associations that form the basis of situational awareness METHOD: Sixty university students undertook an assessment of cue utilisation in the context of motor vehicle driving and subsequently engaged in an air traffic control simulation task. During the air traffic control simulation task, situational awareness queries were introduced based on the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Test (SAGAT).

RESULTS

The analyses revealed that participants who demonstrated relatively higher levels of cross-task cue utilisation also demonstrated greater performance on the SAGAT and achieved greater performance during the simulated air traffic control task.

CONCLUSION

The outcomes suggest a relationship between cross-task cue utilisation and situational awareness, particularly at the initial stages of skill acquisition.

APPLICATION

Assessments of cross-task cue utilisation may be used to distinguish the propensity for prospective trainees to acquire the situational awareness necessary for complex, process control tasks such as air traffic control.

Cue utilisation reduces effort but increases arousal during a process control task

Process control environments are characterised by rapid changes in work demands, the successful response to which is dependent upon the availability of cognitive resources. Since high cue utilisation is associated with a reduction in cognitive load and a consequent release of residual resources, it was hypothesised that participants with high cue utilisation would experience lower subjective arousal and lower physiological effort in response to increases in the work demands associated with a simulated rail control task. A total of 41 participants completed a 10 min, low work demand period, followed by a 10 min, high work demand condition. High cue utilisation was associated with a reduction in systolic blood pressure and the maintenance of sustained, superior performance in response to high work demands. However, an increase in subjective arousal was also evident. The outcomes have implications for the selection and assessment of operators of high reliability, dynamic, process control environments.

The role of cue utilisation in reducing the workload in a train control task

Skilled performance has been characterised, in part, by the capacity to accurately identify and respond to patterns as cues in the environment. The outcome is a reduction in cognitive load and a greater residual capacity to undertake concurrent tasks. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between cue utilisation and temporal pattern recognition in the context of a simulated, rail control task. Sixty-one university students undertook an assessment of cue utilisation and engaged in a rail control simulation. The appearance and movement of trains followed a consistent but implicit (undisclosed) pattern. Throughout the second half of the rail task, a secondary task was included. The results indicated that participants with relatively higher cue utilisation were more likely to identify the implicit pattern of rail movements, were more accurate and responded more rapidly under increased workload conditions. The results suggest that a propensity to identify patterns as cues may provide an opportunity to reduce cognitive demands, thereby facilitating performance in a novel task. Implications for selection and system design are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This study was designed to explain differences in the way in which people learn, particularly when tasks involve recurring patterns. Using simulated rail control, the results indicated that participants who display behaviour that is indicative of the utilisation of cues also recognise patterns in the movement of simulated trains. This enables them to manage trains more effectively, even while undertaking other tasks.