Doctoral Dissertation Research: Towards a Theory of Mind Wandering in Relation to Task Type, Behavioral Responses, and Respective Adverse Consequences in the Cockpit

本博士论文改进基金支持co-PI的研究，以调查任务无关思维（即走神）与当时正在执行的任务之间的关系。这项研究的重点是驾驶舱飞行甲板环境中的行为，将研究某些任务特征是否与较高的走神发生率有关，以及走神事件是否与人为错误有关。在智力价值方面，本研究将基于现有文献、调查研究和认知任务分析的既定发现，发展走神对任务绩效影响的理论。该理论将在模拟飞行控制系统的背景下进行实验验证。这项研究的更广泛的影响是，它将通过定义思维漫游的理论结构和开发在操作员控制系统中测量这种结构的度量来推进对人为因素的认识和理解。此外，这项研究将产生一种任务分类法来解释什么时候最有可能发生走神，并提出新的方法来周期性地重新吸引操作员，以减少疲劳，增加情况意识，提高操作员控制系统的性能。

This Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant supports research by the co-PI to investigate the relationship between task-unrelated thinking, that is, mind wandering and the task that is being executed at the time. The research, focusing on behavior in a cockpit flight deck environment, will examine whether certain task features are related to higher incidence of mind wandering and whether incidents of mind wandering are related to human error. In terms of intellectual merit, the research will develop a theory of the consequences of mind wandering on task performance based on established findings in the existing literature, survey research and cognitive task analysis. The theory will be tested experimentally in the context of a simulated flight control system. The broader impact of this research is that it will advance knowledge and understanding in Human Factors by defining a theoretical construct for mind wandering and developing metrics for measuring this construct in operator controlled systems. In addition, this research will yield a task-taxonomy to explain when mind wandering is most likely to occur and suggest new methods to periodically re-engage operators in ways that minimize fatigue, increase situation awareness, and improve performance in operator controlled systems.