News
Harvey Smallman and Maia Cook publish extension of Naïve Realism theory
Naïve Realism figure
PSE Senior Scientists, Drs. Harvey Smallman and Maia Cook have just published an extensive article and update of the Naïve Realism theory that accounts for misplaced faith in realistic (e.g., 3D) information depiction. The article is in the new, high impact Topics in Cognitive Science (“topiCS”) journal. The article casts doubt on the value of ever-increasing realism in geospatial visualization with an experiment showing that, while users predict better performance for high fidelity views, they perform route laying tasks better with lower fidelity displays. PSE scientists Smallman and Mark St. John developed the Naïve Realism theory over the course of a long-running ONR-sponsored project on the human factors of visualization.
Christine Brown and David Kobus present Load Carriage study at APA Convention
Christine Brown
The presentation described results of research to determine the effects of carrying heavy loads on cognitive performance of infantrymen. Operationally relevant cognitive tasks were performed while carrying loads of 0 lbs. (no-load baseline), 98 lbs. and 135 lbs. for two hours on a treadmill.
Cognitive performance (vigilance, spatial and working memory) declined significantly over baseline in the load conditions. Additionally, following a brief rest period, performance did not return to baseline level (no-load). The decrements in performance significantly reduced the ability to focus attention to detect, interpret, and take appropriate action throughout a session — key requirements for patrol effectiveness.
These findings have significant implications for military and other occupations that carry heavy loads while performing duties that require focused attention.
Brown, C. M., & Kobus, D. A. (2011). Changes in cognitive performance during extended periods of heavy load carriage. Presented at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., August 6, 2011.
St.John Joins Editorial Board
Mark St. John
PSE Senior Scientist, Dr. Mark St. John has been invited to join the editorial board of the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. The board sets the strategy, scope, and direction for the Journal.
The Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making focuses on research that seeks to understand how people engage in cognitive work in real-world settings and on the development of systems that support that work. Dr. St. John joins a group of distinguished scientists from a wide variety of disciplines.
Dirk Beer Co-Authors Article
Senior Scientist, Dr. Dirk Beer, is co-author on a just-published article in Journal of Vision, entitled “Spatiotemporal averaging of perceived brightness along an apparent motion trajectory.” The series of experiments was conducted with Takehiro Nagai, E. Krizay, and Don MacLeod at UCSD. The experiments show that when we perceive something as a moving object, the visual system assumes that object has a constant brightness, and the system ignores or averages out any actual brightness variation in the stimulus. It is more evidence that our perceptions are an interpretation, rather than a measurement, of physical stimuli.