Psychology
Human Factors in Psychology
Human factors in psychology refers to the study of how humans interact with their environment, tools, and technology. It focuses on understanding human behavior, cognition, and performance to design systems, products, and environments that are safe, efficient, and user-friendly. This field integrates principles from psychology, engineering, and design to improve human well-being and productivity.
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10 Key excerpts on "Human Factors in Psychology"
- Stephen F. Davis, William Buskist, Stephen F. Davis, William F. Buskist(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
387 93 H UMAN F ACTORS P HILIP K ORTUM Rice University H uman factors is an applied discipline of psychol-ogy that is concerned with the interactions between humans and machines. Alphonse Chapanis (1985), one of the founders of the discipline, said, “Human Factors discovers and applies information about human abili-ties, limitations and characteristics to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs and environments for safe, comfortable and effective human use” (p. 2). Put more simply, human factors is concerned with the consideration of people in the design of products, services, and systems. Unlike the traditional disciplines of psychology that are typically focused on specific human behaviors and capa-bilities alone, human factors is primarily concerned with how these behaviors and capabilities limit human perfor-mance in the real world, either in task performance or in the design and use of machine interfaces. For example, a perceptual psychologist may be interested in determining contrast sensitivity functions for the human visual system after it is exposed to bright flashes of varying intensity. From this data, the perceptual psychologist might theorize about the underlying structure and function of the compo-nents of the visual system that might be responsible for the observed results. In contrast, the human factors psycholo-gist might use the resulting data to determine what a driver would be able to see after a blinding flash from an oncom-ing car’s headlights in order to design roadway signs that could be seen under these kinds of conditions. The human factors psychologist does not eschew basic research, but rather maintains a focus on the practical application of that data to the solution of problems in which the performance of the human is an integral component. It is important to note that, contrary to popular belief, there are several things that human factors is not . First, it is not simply the application of common sense.
No longer available |Learn more- Vivek D. Bhise(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
performance The collected data are also used to develop models to predict behavior and performance of users with different characteristics in completing different tasks The field of Human Factors Engineering is also called Human Engineering, Ergonomics, Engineering Psychology, Man–Machine Systems, or Human–Machine Interface Design After World War II, the field of Human Factors emerged in the United States, mainly among the psychologists, to study the equipment and process design problems primarily from the human information processing viewpoint The field of ergonomics emerged in the European countries around 1949 to improve workplaces and jobs in the industries with an emphasis on biomechanical applications The word “ergonomics,” the science of work laws (or the science of applying natural laws to design work), was coined by joining two Greek words “ergon” (work) and “nomos” (laws) (Jastrzebowski, 1857; Murrell, 1958) Over the past 35 years, the field covers both the physical and information processing aspects and is more commonly known as “Human Factors Engineering” or “Ergonomics” with about equal preference in the use of either name for the field
eBook - PDF- Kim-Phuong L. Vu, Robert W. Proctor, Kim-Phuong L. Vu, Robert W. Proctor(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
3 1.1 CONTEXT The.terms. human factors .and. ergonomics .are.closely.associ-ated. with. engineering. psychology,. the. study. of. human. per-formance.in.the.operation.of.systems.(Proctor.and.Vu.2010) . . Human.factors.psychologists.and.engineers.are.concerned.with. anything.that.affects.the.performance.of.system.operators— whether.hardware,.software,.or.liveware . .They.are.involved. in.the.study.and.application.of.principles.of.ergonomic.design. to.equipment.and.operating.procedures.and.in.the.scientific. selection.and.training.of.operators . .The.goal.of.ergonomics.is. to.optimize.machine.design.for.human.operation,.and.the.goal. of.selection.and.training.is.to.produce.people.who.get.the.best. performance.possible.within.machine.design.limitations . Because. the. Internet. and. the. World. Wide. Web. involve. complex.human–machine.interactions,.many.of.the.lessons. learned.from.human.factors.research.in.other.areas,.notably. in.aviation.design,.training,.and.operations,.are.applicable.to. issues.in.Web.design . .The.goal.of.this.chapter.is.to.provide.an. overview.of.the.pioneering.contributions.of.the.people.who. shaped. the. field. of. human. factors. in. system. design. and. to. discuss.issues.and.established.principles.that.can.be.applied. to.Web.design . .The.chapter.is.also.intended.to.help.the.reader. understand. how. this. early. history. provided. a. serendipitous. foundation.for.the.goals.of.this.handbook . 1.1.1 P RINCIP LES OF D ESIGN Human. factors. specialists. are. concerned. first. with. the. dis-tribution. of. system. functions. among. people. and. machines . . System.functions.are.identified.through.the.analysis.of.system. operations. .Human.factors.analysts.typically.work.backward. 1 Historical Overview of Human Factors and Ergonomics Stanley N.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Library Press(Publisher)
________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ Chapter- 6 Human Factors Research subject in a human fatigue study Human factors science or human factors technologies is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research and anthropometry. It is a term that covers: • The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science). • The application of this understanding to the design, development and deployment of systems and services (Human Factors Engineering). • The art of ensuring successful application of Human Factors Engineering to a program (sometimes referred to as Human Factors Integration). It can also be called ergonomics. In general, a human factor is a physical or cognitive property of an individual or social behavior which is specific to humans and influences functioning of technological systems as well as human-environment equilibriums. In social interactions, the use of the term human factor stresses the social properties unique to or characteristic of humans. ________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ Human factors involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the world around them, with the aim of improving operational performance, safety, through life costs and/or adoption through improvement in the experience of the end user. The terms human factors and ergonomics have only been widely used in recent times; the field's origin is in the design and use of aircraft during World War II to improve aviation safety. It was in reference to the psychologists and physiologists working at that time and the work that they were doing that the terms applied psychology and “ergonomics” were first coined. Work by Elias Porter, Ph.D. and others within the RAND Corporation after WWII extended these concepts.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- White Word Publications(Publisher)
After 1965, the period saw a maturation of the discipline. The field has expanded with the development of the computer and computer applications. Founded in 1957, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is the world's largest organization of professionals devoted to the science of human factors and ergonomics. The Society's mission is to promote the discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices of all kinds. The Cycle of Human Factors Human Factors involves the study of factors and development of tools that facilitate the achievement of these goals. In the most general sense, the three goals of human factors are accomplished through several procedures in the human factors cycle, which depicts the human operator (brain and body) and the system with which he or she is interacting. First it is necessary to diagnose or identify the problems and deficiencies in the human-system interaction of an existing system. After defining the problems there are five different approaches that can be used in order to implement the solution. These are as follows: • Equipment Design: changes the nature of the physical equipment with which humans work. • Task Design: focuses more on changing what operators do than on changing the devices they use. This may involve assigning part or all of tasks to other workers or to automated components. • Environmental Design: implements changes, such as improved lighting, temperature control and reduced noise in the physical environment where the task is carried out. • Training the individuals: better preparing the worker for the conditions that he or she will encounter in the job environment by teaching and practicing the necessary physical or mental skills. • Selection of individuals: is a technique that recognizes the individual differences across humans in every physical and mental dimension that is relevant for good system performance.
eBook - PDFHuman-Computer Interaction
Fundamentals and Practice
- Gerard Jounghyun Kim(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Auerbach Publications(Publisher)
29 3 H UMAN F ACTORS AS HCI T HEORIES 3.1 Human Information Processing Any effort to design an effective interface for human–computer inter-action (HCI) requires two basic elements: an understanding of (a) computer factors (software/hardware) and (b) human behavior. We will look at the computer aspects of HCI design in the second part of this book. In this chapter, we take a brief look at some of the basic human factors that constrict the extent of this interaction. In Chapters 1 and 2, we studied two bodies of knowledge for HCI design, namely (a) high-level and abstract principles and (b) specific HCI guidelines. To practice user-centered design by following these principles and guidelines, the interface requirements must often be investigated, solicited, derived, and understood directly from the tar-get users through focus interviews and surveys. However, it is also possible to obtain a fairly good understanding of the target user from knowledge of human factors. As the main underlying theory for HCI, human factors can largely be divided into: (a) cognitive science, which explains the human’s capability and model of conscious processing of high-level information and (b) ergonomics, which elucidates how raw external stimulation signals are accepted by our five senses, are processed up to the preattentive level, and are later acted upon in the outer world through the motor organs. Human-factors knowledge will particularly help us design HCI in the following ways. • Task/interaction modeling : Formulate the steps for how humans might interact to solve and carry out a given task/problem and derive the interaction model. A careful HCI designer would 30 HUMAN–COMPUTER INTERACTION not neglect to obtain this model by direct observation of the users themselves, but the designer’s knowledge in cognitive science will help greatly in developing the model.
eBook - ePubControlling Uncertainty
Decision Making and Learning in Complex Worlds
- Magda Osman(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
Until now, the work discussed in this book has focused on ways of representing and designing control systems. This chapter is the first occasion in which the uncertainties of the environment are considered with respect to human behaviour and the kinds of adaptive control behaviours that emerge as a product of the interaction with control systems. Another aim of this chapter is to provide illustrations in which there are gaps between the assumptions and capabilities of the human operator and the behaviour of the control system. In most day-to-day cases, such gaps make little difference to controlling the actual outcome in a system – in fact, we behave with a rather impoverished understanding of the control systems we operate. However, in other cases such gaps can have dire consequences. The severity of such cases suggests that even with ever increasing technological advances and sophisticated system design, the changes generated and observed in the environment present the same continued challenge. For this reason alone, it is important to consider the target question of this book: ‘How do we learn about, and control online, an uncertain environment that may be changing as a consequence of our actions, or autonomously, or both?’ from the point of view of the kinds of interactions with control systems that human operators face. Another reason is that human factors research examines possible causes for increases in our levels of uncertainty when operating control systems. These possible causes can lead to errors, and so being aware of them is clearly of interest. However, before this discussion can begin, it is important to establish more specifically what the domain of human factors actually is.Human FactorsThere is no strict agreement as to the differences between human factors research and other related areas such as HCI, ergonomics and cognitive engineering (Vicente, 1999), and it is not the place of this chapter to attempt to do so. Rather, the aim here is to consider across all these different research domains the main tenet they all share. In the general, there appears to be little controversy in suggesting that their common goal is to accurately represent and describe the dynamic relationship between humans and complex systems.1 Human factors research also crosses over to other disciplines (e.g., engineering, psychology, AI and machine learning).Why might this be the case? Well, it has been argued that the formal models (e.g., fuzzy set theory, Bayes theorem, optimal sampling, reinforcement learning, neutral networks, Kalman filter and signal detection theory) used to describe the environment (i.e., the artificial system) can also be used to characterize the interaction between the humans and control systems (Melnik, 2009). The choice of model applied to describe the capabilities of human learning and decision making depends on the purpose of the interaction. So, as with machine learning, no one model wins outright in formally capturing either what the environment is (i.e., the type of control system) or human behaviour (e.g., what kind of decision-making behaviour needs to be described), but rather different flavours of models suit different goals. It is important to highlight here that an ongoing issue in human factors research is whether there can in fact be a formal description of the interaction between humans and machines – this point will be discussed in some detail later.
eBook - PDF- Stanley G. Blethyn, Carys Y. Parker(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Butterworth-Heinemann(Publisher)
An ergonomics expert would normally be consulted, for example, during the design of a new power station operating console or a new aircraft flight deck. The occupational psycholog-ist is more concerned with the impact of working practices on individuals or groups in terms of their attitudes, and, if consulted at all, would normally be brought in prior to a major reorganization within a department. For some time it was assumed that attention to these levels of interaction would suffice, and that higher-level aspects of interaction (the mental rather than the physical) were better left to medical experts or psychologists. As systems became more complex, and more demanding of human resources, it became apparent that many situations were arising that existing practice could not cope with. This was especially so with computer-based systems. Errors were occurring, and system designers could not say why. Users reported that systems were 'unusable' or 'unfriendly' but could not be more specific. Research on the problem began to indicate that the trouble often lay not with the physical aspects of system operation but with a tenuous, conceptual space between the human and the computer. The tenuous nature is best evidenced by the fact that there is no Relationship of HCI to system design 291 consensus on what this space should be called - it is generally termed the 'human-computer interaction', but the British Computer Society has recently favoured the 'human-systems interaction', which is arguably more acceptable. The basic rationale for HCI, then, is that although the communication between humans and systems is ultimately mediated by physical devices such as keyboards or mice, the actual interaction takes place at a higher, cognitive, level. These two levels are interdependent - the physical level has to be correct before the cognitive can work; something as trivial as a 'sticky' key can result in a bad experience with the system, however good its logical design.
eBook - ePub- Robert Bridger(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
1 Human Factors and Ergonomics from the Earliest Times to the PresentGeneral Requirements for Humans in SystemsIn the past, the man has been first; in the future, the system must be first. Taylor, 1911 Core Knowledge: Understanding Human Factors and Ergonomics1.1 Equipment is operable and safe1.2 Tasks are compatible with people’s expectations limitations and training1.3 An environment that is comfortable and appropriate for the task1.4 Job aids and training are appropriate to the work1.5 A system of work organization that recognizes peoples’ social and economic needsEvery time we use a tool or a machine we interact with it via an interface (a handle, a steering wheel, a computer keyboard and mouse, etc.). The core knowledge of HFE describes how best to design tools and machines in order to optimize these interactions and also the effect of the ambient environmental conditions when the interaction takes place. The aim is to maximize compatibility between system components with the main focus on the user.Compatibility: Matching Demands to CapabilitiesCompatibility between the user and the rest of the system can be achieved at a number of levels: biomechanical, anatomical, physiological, behavioral, and cognitive levels. In order to achieve compatibility, we need to assess the demands placed by the technological and environmental constraints and weigh them against the capabilities of the users. The database of modern HFE contains much information on the capabilities and characteristics of people, and one of the main purposes of this book is to introduce the reader to this information and show how it can be used in practice.Poor system functioning can be caused by a lack of compatibility in some or all of the interactions involving the human operator. This incompatibility can occur due to a variety of reasons. For example,
eBook - PDFHuman Performance and Ergonomics
Perceptual and Cognitive Principles
- Peter A. Hancock(Author)
- 1999(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society. Williges, R. C., Williges, B. H., & Han, S. H. (1993). Sequential experimentation in human- computer interface design. In R. Hartson, & D. Hix (Eds.), Advances in human-computer interaction (Vol. IV, pp. 1-30). New York: Ablex. Wilson, M. B. (1992). Human factors: An initiative in the U.S. Coast Guard. Paper presented at the Ship Production Symposium, New Orleans, LA, September, 1992. Wilson, G. F., & Eggemeier, F. T. (1991). Psychophysiological assessment of workload in multi-task environments. In D. L. Damos (Ed.), Multiple task performance (pp. 329-360). London: Taylor and Francis. Wise, J. A. (1986). The space station: Human factors and habitability. Human Factors Society Bulletin, 29(5), 1-3. 1 Engineering Psychology and Ergonomics 45 Wissel, J. W., & Hall, S. A. (1957). Human engineering research--who should do it and why. American Psychologist, 12, 92-94. Wood, C. C. (1958). Human factors engineering. Ergonomics, 1, 294-300. Woodson, W. E. (1954). Human engineering guide for equipment designers. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Woo&on, W. E. (1981). Human factors design handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill. Woodson, W. E., & Conover, D. W. (1964). Human engineering guide for equipment designers (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (First edition published in 1954.) World Almanac (1997). The world almanac and book offacts. Mahwah, NJ: K-Ill Reference Corp. Wright, K. (1990). The shape of things to go. ScientificAmerican, 262(5), 92-101. Yeh, Y-Y., & Wickens, C. D. (1988). Disassociation of performance and subjective measures of workload. Human Factors, 30, 111-120. Zinchenko, V., & Munipov, V. (1989). Fundamentals qfergonomics. Moscow: Progress Publishers. This Page Intentionally Left Blank
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
