scaled worlds: tractable, realistic, and engaging? wayne d. gray, ph.d. george mason university...

Scaled Worlds: Tractable, Realistic, and Engaging?

Wayne D. Gray, Ph.D.

George Mason University

Human Factors & Applied Cognition

[email protected]

[email protected] Tractable, Realistic, & Engaging? Slide 2

Motivation (1)

• Outstanding in My Field– Ft. Hunter-Ligget, NTC, Ft. Knox, Ft. Benning, Ft.

Hood, Schofield Barracks, W. Germany

• The Unfinished Revolution– Problem Finding (Newell & Simon, 1972)

• Protocol Analyses

• Real-World Experts

• Real-World Novices

– Unified Theories of Cognition (Newell, 1973)


Motivation (2)

• Resistance from Academic Psychology?– Traditional Experimental Psychology slowing

yielding (work well-accepted by Cognitive Science Society types)

• Resistance from Human Factors Psychology?– Traditional HF Psychology -- Suspicious of

Theory– Ethnographic HF Psychology -- Suspicious of

Abstractions of the Task Environment


Topic

• Simulations of the Task Environment

• How do various Task Environment Simulations differ?

• What inferences do different types of Task Environment Simulations permit us to draw?


Outline

• The Problem

• Distinctions, Dimensions, Definitions

• Examples

• Scaled Worlds


The Problem

In field research there is too much complexity to allow for definite conclusions; whereas, in laboratory research there is too little complexity to allow for interesting conclusions.

Brehmer, B. & Dörner, D. (1993). Experiments with computer-simulated microworlds: Escaping both the narrow straits of the laboratory and the deep blue sea of the field study. Computers in Human Behavior, 9(2-3), 171-184.

Three Dimensions of Simulated Task Environmentsdifficulttractablerealisticunrealisticengagingboring

Researcher

Real-World Task

Participant


Definitions: Scaled World

• Beginning with a Complex, Real-World Task– A scaled world abstracts certain functional

relationships, while paring away others– Can be multiple scaled worlds of the same

complex, real-world task that differ on which functional relationships are abstracted and which are pared away

– The nature of the research question determines what is abstracted and what is pared away


Definitions: Tractable

• The “complexity” issue– Can the researcher pursue the question of interest?

• Includes issues such as– Data collection (the right data, at the right grain size,

with the right timestamp)– Learnability issues– Usability issues– Computational cognitive modeling issues -- can the

model interact with the system?


Definitions: Realism

• The simulated task environment is realistic to the situation to the degree to which experiences encountered in the environment will occur in the real-world


Definitions: Engagement

• The simulated task environment is engaging to the degree to which it involves and affects the participants; that is, the degree to which they take it seriously


Dimension difficulttractable

difficulttractableReal-WorldHi-Fidelity SimMicroworldSyntheticEnvironmentsScaled Worlds??????

Dimensions

Human OperatorTask in the Real-WorldSimulated Task EnvironmentEngagementextrinsic to the simulationknowledge possessed by the participantRealismrelevantirrelevantintrinsic to the task environment

unrealisticrealisticDimensionrealisticunrealisticReal-WorldHi-Fidelity SimMicroworldSyntheticEnvironmentsScaled Worlds??????


Dimension boringengaging

engagingboringMicroworldSyntheticEnvironmentsReal-WorldScaled Worlds??????Hi-Fidelity Sim


How Simulated Task Environments vary on Tractability, Realism and Engagement

• Four examples– Flight Simulator– VCR– Argus– Ned

• Each is followed by a discussion of whether it is or is not a scaled world


Example: Flight Simulator

• As High Fidelity as $$$ and current technology can provide

• Is it a scaled world? NO

lowmedhigh¿¿engagement??realismtractability


Example: VCR -- A High Fidelity Simulation of a Very Simple Task


Gray, W. D. (in press). The nature and processing of errors in interactive behavior. Cognitive Science.

http://hfac.gmu.edu/Publications/pubs.html

lowmedhighengagement realismtractability

Is the VCR a Scaled World?

• No -- more like a high fidelity simulation of a low complexity task


Example: Argus


Is Argus a Scaled World?

• No -- Lacks the relation to a complex, real-world task that defines a scaled world

• It is a Synthetic Environment– Focus is on the study of interactive behavior under

conditions of high workload

lowmedhigh engagementrealismtractability


Example: Ned


Is Ned a Scaled World?

• Yes

lowmedhigh engagementrealismtractability


Design Goals for Ned

• Has been carefully designed to abstract certain functional relationships of a complex, real-world task

• The functional relationships abstracted were defined by the goals of the study

• Most other functional relationships have been pared away

• Specifications for Ned arose from– Studying and listening to submarine Approach Officers


Research Goals for Ned (1)

• Functional Relationships– Project goals entail the description and simulation of the

cognitive processes and memory structures used by Approach Officers in locating enemy submarines

• Impact on Cognitive Theory– To be able to say something new and different about the

expertise required for performing a complex, event-driven task


Research Goals for Ned (2)

• Generalizability– Our goal is to be able to generalize the data and models of

Ned to a new, unknown submarine, with reduced manning, and new instrumentation

Caveat: “generalizability may be hindered by excessive attention

to mundane realism” (DiFonzo, Hantula, and Bordia 1998)


Ned on the Tractability Dimension

• Ten displays with no overlapping information• Each object clicked is timestamped to nearest

tick (60hz) and saved to a log file• Researchers can “play back” Approach

Officer scenarios• Computational cognitive models written in

ACT-R can use Ned in same manner that our Approach Officers do.


Ned on the Realism Dimension

• We decreased realism – by paring away the functional relationships provided

by the Approach Officer’s interactions with his crew and boat

• But, we maintained an information environment in which the functional relationships essential to our goals were preserved

• Used scenarios that represented situations familiar to the Approach Officer


Ned on the Engagement Dimension

• Ned maintains a reasonable level of engagement– but only for those with much prior submarine

experience -- i.e., not suitable for college sophomores (or for this audience!!)

• The engagement arose from presenting Approach Officers with scenarios, information types, and displays that were recognizable as similar to those encountered in real missions

Dimensions Revisiteddifficulttractablerealisticunrealisticengagingboring


Summary: Tractability

• Tractability– Microworld & Synthetic Environments ≥

Scaled World > High Fidelity Simulation– Tractability is defined by the needs of the

research question


Summary: Realism

• Realism for scaled worlds– Hi-Fi simulation > Scaled World > Microworlds or

Synthetic Environments– The realism of scaled worlds is a focused subset of a

more complex, real-world task. – Focus is on a limited set of functional relationships

with a limited set contextual elements (e.g., scenarios, information types, and displays)


Summary: Engagement

• Engagement for scaled worlds– Scaled worlds present schematics of the real world

situations– Participants supply the engagement via their

motivation and knowledge of the task and domain– Will not be more engaging than the real task


The End

http://hfac.gmu.edu

scaled worlds: tractable, realistic, and engaging? wayne d. gray, ph.d. george mason university...

Documents

ned slide

dimension slide

argus slide

task environment slide

scaled world slide

simple task slide

real world slide

low complexity task