C
S L Notes
Number 20 September 1996
A quarterly newsletter of the Cognitive Science
Laboratory, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.
20064.
Letter from the Editor
by David Hardy
Evan Byrne recently left the Cognitive Science Laboratory to
pursue a career as a human factors accident investigator with the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) here in Washington, DC. Evan
came from Steven Porges' laboratory at the University of Maryland and
started his postdoctoral position at the CSL in the summer of 1993. Evan
specialized in the electrocardiogram, particularly respiratory sinus
arrhythmia, and related it to issues of automation and performance in
complex systems. Evan also had a keen interest in aviation and recently
earned his pilot's license.
As managing editor, Evan did a fine job with CSL Notes, not
only revamping its style, presentation, and design, but also transforming
an enjoyable but sporadically appearing newsletter into a reliable
bimonthly. He also solicited participation in the writing from laboratory
members. Perhaps less ambitious than Evan, I am turning CSL Notes
into a quarterly. I hope to maintain his high standards, and strongly
encourage submissions and participation. We are happy for Evan in his new
job at NTSB. And we will miss him.
Profiles in Psychology
Donald Broadbent
by Raja Parasuraman
Donald Broadbent, who died in 1993, was one of this century's
greatest psychologists and probably its most influential experimental
psychologist. I first met him in 1975. He was then in the later stages of
his illustrious career, I was a raw graduate student in awe of an
intellectual giant. Yet, and this was true not just of me but of other
students and scientists who met him, Broadbent was unfailingly helpful,
polite, and tolerant of the naive questions I posed to him. He was free
of the trappings of ego and displays of power that unfortunately affect
many senior scientists with only half his accomplishments. He made a
powerful impression on me as a psychologist, a scholar, and a human
being.
Broadbent is rightly credited with being a major force in
the development of modern cognitive psychology. His classic book,
Perception and Communication, was published in 1958 at a time when
the influence of behaviorism in psychology was extremely strong,
especially in the United States. His book not only showed the value of
the information processing approach, but also provided a testable model
and theory of attention and information processing that would serve to
generate countless empirical tests and alternative theories in the
decades that followed. I would rate this book as the single most
influential book in the history of cognitive psychology. If you have
still not read this book, I strongly recommend it. I still peruse it from
time to time and continue to find important insights within it that have
stood the test of four decades of time.
My contacts with Broadbent were limited, but always fruitful. In the
late part of 1974 I was engaged in research on human vigilance for my
Ph.D. In the course of conducting one of my experiments, I encountered
what, in retrospect, was a relatively small issue, but one that seemed of
enormous importance to me at the time: the interrelationships between
correct detections and false alarms and the speed (reaction time) with
which these responses were made in vigilance tasks. I came up with an
approach based on signal detection theory to understand these
relationships, particularly in the case when subjects also had to rate
their confidence in their response (ratings). My advisor Roy Davies
suggested that I write to Broadbent for his opinion. I did so with some
trepidation, fearing he would pour cold water on what was a trivial
issue.
However, not only did Broadbent reply at length to my letter (these
were the days of regular mail), he made some suggestions for improvement
of my arguments, and encouraged me to continue the work further. His
suggestions were so useful that I would later refer to them in my thesis
(and I still have that letter; it is a prized possession). Later in 1975
and 1976, and indeed even after I received my Ph.D. in 1976, I
corresponded with Broadbent and always received helpful and encouraging
replies.
In the British educational system for the Ph.D., you
spend three to four years doing only research, and are expected to
produce a 300 to 400 page thesis containing the results of at least half
a dozen experiments. No classes, term papers, comprehensives, qualifying
exams, proposals, or dissertation committee. At the end of this period,
your advisor chooses a scholar from another institution to be the
External Examiner for the thesis. The thesis is shipped off to this
person, who then spends 6 months reading it. Then comes an oral
examination in which the External Examiner questions you at some length.
His or her assessment of your performance determines whether you get the
Ph.D. Pass or fail, that's it. (If you are thinking of the Spanish
Inquisition at this moment, your imagery is about right!)
Given this system, the choice of the External Examiner becomes
critical. One strategy would be to choose Joe Schmoe from Nowhere
University to be the External Examiner. But the tradition is that if you
pass, the External Examiner is committed to writing a letter of
recommendation for you and to help you in other ways to find a good job.
Obviously, the more prestigious the External Examiner, the greater the
value of such a letter and the higher the probability of getting a job at
Oxford or Cambridge. But the downside is that such a person is also not
likely to be fooled by your attempts to hide what are clearly flaws in
logic and other weaknesses in your thesis. So the choice is, choose a
Nobody, pass, but don't get a job; or choose a Somebody Famous and Really
Intelligent and risk failing. My advisor Roy Davies seemed immune to my
anxiety when faced with this dilemma and persuaded me that Broadbent was
the only choice.
I spent many a sleepless night before agreeing somewhat meekly with
his choice. Roy called Broadbent and he agreed. But then he subsequently
declined due to a health problem and the pressure of other work. (Roy's
next choice was no cakewalk either -- Alan Baddeley, who went on to
become Broadbent's successor as Director of the Medical Research Council
Applied Psychology Unit (MRC APU) and worldwide fame with his model of
working memory. Fortunately for me, I passed Baddeley's muster, and true
to the tradition he not only wrote letters of recommendation for me but
also offered me a job at the MRC APU.)
Although many in the United States are acquainted with
Broadbent's achievements in cognitive psychology (e.g., the filter
theory), many might not be familiar with his accomplishments in
ergonomics and applied psychology. During World War II he did important
work on industrial design and training, followed by studies of noise and
fatigue. Throughout his long career at the MRC APU in Cambridge Broadbent
advocated a unique approach to basic and applied work that strongly
influenced me. He believed strongly that basic research should be driven
by some important practical problem, not solely by theory. Conversely, he
proposed that applied studies should be conducted as tests of the theory
and that the findings of such studies should be used to modify the
underlying theory. I can think of no other psychologist in this century
who so elegantly and usefully applied this philosophy to the advancement
of basic knowledge and the solution of important practical problems. He
was an extraordinary scholar and humanitarian, and I feel privileged to
have known him.
The Benefits of Networking
by Jacqueline Duley
Whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate student, the
importance of networking in today's market cannot be overstressed.
Without at least one contact in the "real" world it is difficult to
succeed in your search for a job or a career path. In your job search you
will find that the human resources department of any company is an
obstacle. Due to the large number of applicants for each open position,
the human resources personnel strictly sort resumes by how closely your
experience matches their job posting. If your resume does not closely
match the requirements listed in the advertisement, you do not have a
chance of getting past the file cabinet. However, if you have a contact
within the company, this person can pass your resume to the right people
as well as give you an endorsement for the position. In order to know
such a person you must network. Also by meeting and speaking with people
in various occupations, you will gain a better understanding of the
skills required by each profession and the type of experience necessary
in order to qualify for the vocation.
Although it was a little late in my student career, I
began networking during my first week of graduate school. A fellow
aerospace engineer introduced me to his mentor at Northwest Airlines
Flight Operations division. We discussed my research interests
extensively as well as NWA's role in the commercial market. He then
introduced me to his colleague in NWA Flight Training and from there I
was on my way to developing a significant network in the aviation and
human factors community. Within a few months I knew five to six people
within Northwest Airlines. Although I was not involved in a job search,
my networking efforts quickly became beneficial. I was able to use these
contacts to persuade over 40 commercial airline pilots to participate in
our studies at the University of Minnesota. I was also able to instigate
and complete the acquisition of a DC-9 aircraft part-task training
simulator for the Human Factors Research Laboratory at UMN. Additionally,
my time spent with the NWA employees provided me with a link to other
people in aviation research that I could use in future networking
opportunities, e.g. so-and-so of NWA referred me to you
regarding...
Using a friend is not the only way to network of course.
Becoming a member of or attending a meeting/conference for a professional
society is a great method of accessing people in your area of interest.
The majority of the people at these meetings are happy to talk about
themselves, their work, and are often willing to offer some advice. I
have had the experience of speaking with one person at a conference which
led to that person introducing me to one or two other people that could
offer advice/information as well. Currently each time I attend a
conference, I make an effort to touch base with these original contacts
in order to further foster the relationships for the future.
In general, my networking efforts have provided me with
contacts that were important in choosing a graduate school and advisor as
well as obtaining a fellowship -- if you haven't already guessed, I am
referring to Raja. My contacts in industry have also provided me with the
peace of mind that I have plenty of directions to choose from when I
graduate.
Lastly, some recommendations for networking:
Be prepared
.
Before presenting yourself to
someone, be sure to prepare yourself by doing some investigating about
the particular job you want or research area of interest. You will
quickly lose someones interest as well as leave a bad impression behind
if you are not at least somewhat knowledgeable enough to be able to
ask intelligent questions.
Be choosy.
Do not randomly choose someone who
happens to be sitting near a wall at the conference. Target some specific
people that you have researched. However, it is not bad to take advantage
of opportunity, e.g. joining someone at their table for lunch during the
conference break.
Be direct
.
Get to
the point quickly by introducing
yourself completely, i.e. name, status, school, etc. After this you may
have to be a bit of an expert small talker depending on the individual in
order to warm-up the situation. But dont take too long. Try a direct
question to the person regarding their research, expertise, or place of
employment.
Be a good listener
.
Take full advantage of your
time with someone. Listen fully and ask questions about the person's
comments. If you listen well you may learn of jobs, companies, and
situations to avoid as well as those you may want to target.
Be sensitive
.
Learn to sense the situation in
terms of when the discussion is going nowhere or the person is
preoccupied or too busy to talk with you. Do not over-stay your welcome.
Get in --- and get out!
I do not consider myself an expert in the art of
networking but my efforts to date have served me well. There are a lot of
people trying for the same position, fellowship, grant or contract. A
connection with the right person can make the difference.
Calendar of Events
Note that a number of upcoming events are here in
Washington!
October 16-20, 1996. Society for Psychophysiological Research.
Vancouver, British Columbia. Contact 202-783-2077, ext. 3017
November 16-21, 1996. Society for Neuroscience. Washington,
DC.
April 10-13, 1997. Eastern Psychological Association.
Washington, DC. Contact 609-895-5437.
April 27-May 1, 1997. International Symposium on Aviation
Psychology. Columbus, OH.
May 23-26, 1997. American Psychological Society. Washington,
DC.
Miscellaneous CSL News
Welcome to Yang Jiang, who joins the CSL in October.
Yang, who has a Ph.D. from Miami University (Ohio) and has done
postdoctoral work at Harvard, will be engaged in functional brain imaging
studies of attention.
Welcome to Saroj Narayanswamy. A cousin of Raja, she is from Madras,
India and is visiting during September and October. She will be in the
lab to help out with computer work.
Congratulations to Brian Hilburn on his successful defense of his
doctoral dissertation September 10, 1996. His dissertation was titled
The Impact of Advanced Decision Aiding Automation on Mental Workload
and Human/Machine System Performance. Wow!
Note that CSL meetings are now every Wednesday at noon.
Tips for the Writing Scientist
There are a few things you can do to improve your
writing. One of these is to practice good writing, which requires
explicit knowledge of the rules. This involves the use of style manuals,
reference books, etc. In addition to basic references (such as Strunk and
White, The Elements of Style, for the budding (and veteran)
psychologist there is The Psychologist's Companion by Robert
Sternberg. Sternberg likes lists (there are 26 rules and 21 tips) and
these are handy for the student writer. Here is a sample:
Write for your reader.
Use the active voice.
Use the precise word.
Use concrete words and examples.
Use summary statements.
Use transitions.
Tell readers why they should be
interested.
Make sure the article does what it says it will
do.
End strongly and state a clear take-home message.
Emphasize logical flow and organization.
Write for a somewhat broader and technically less skilled
audience than you expect to read the article.
Proofread your paper.
Reading writing rules is not the same as using good writing
rules. But it's a good place to start.
The Psychologist's Companion
By Robert J. Sternberg, Cambridge University Press, 233 pp., hardback
$49.95, paperback $14.95, 1993.
The effects of emotion are sought with devotion For they clearly
relate to the matter But problems arise when you focus your eyes On all
the statistical scatter.
John W. Senders (1988)
Human Mental Workload
, p.3
Reading for Work . . .
Electrophysiology of Mind. Event-Related Brain Potentials
and Cognition.
Michael Rugg and Michael Coles (Eds.), Oxford University Press, 220
pp., $78, 1995. This slim volume provides a nice introduction to the
physiological basis and conceptual rational to event-related potentials
(ERPs) in research. It also summarizes ERP research in the cognitive
areas of selective attention, mental chronometry, memory, and language
comprehension. I (David) have a copy if anyone is interested in looking
at it.
. . . or Pleasure
Dinosaur in a Haystack
Stephen Jay Gould, Harmony Books, 480pp., 1995.
Highly readable
essays on a broad variety of topics in natural history. Example titles
include Left Snails and Right Minds; If Kings Can Be Hermits, Then We Are
All Monkeys Uncles; In the Mind of the Beholder; and The Late Birth of a
Flat Earth.
Searching For Memory. The Brain, the Mind, and the Past.
Daniel Schacter, Basic Books, 398 pp., hardback $27, 1996.
Popular
book on the relationship between memory and brain. Lots of data including
PET (positron emission tomography) images and strange neurological
patient symptoms such as being able to remember the names of living
things but not manmade objects.
Season of War
D. E. Sutherland, The Free Press.
Chronicles life in
rural Culpeper, Virginia during the Civil War and shows how the daily
lives of both soldiers and civilians were changed as the war passed
repeatedly through the area.
News from the Laboratory System Manager
by Tony Masalonis
Big Internet News
This has been announced to current lab staff on e-mail
but here it is again. Access to the CUA Vax and to the World Wide Web is
now possible from every desktop Mac in 250-260 (not including the
experimental ones, Earth and Vulcan, though these can be set up too). Vax
access is enabled via the NCSA Telnet application, the same thing used on
Neptune for the past few years. Each Mac has a CUAVAX icon on the desktop
and it is only necessary to click this to connect. Web access is
accomplished through Netscape 2.0; version 3.0 is available in the lab
and can currently be used on Neptune; it may be installed on anyone's
Mac, but does use a great deal of memory.
All of this is made possible through low-cost IP Gateway software by
Apple, which reorganizes data coming in from the Internet, into the kind
of packets that can be understood by the Macs that are connected
to our network with Localtalk cables. Note that Neptune must be up and
running for desktop Macs to have Internet access, so if there is a
problem, the likely reason is that Neptune is crashed. Exceptions to this
are the Powermac 7200s, which connect to the rest of the world via
Ethernet and do not require the translation effected by the Apple IP
Gateway software.
CSL Web Page
The CSL Web page has broken out of the world of Beta!
Please take a moment to take a look and provide some feedback. It would
be especially helpful if you have a browser other than Netscape, an old
Mac or especially an old PC, etc., just to get an idea how it looks on
different services and different machines. The page may currently be
findable through some search engines on the WWW, but has not actually
been registered with anyone yet or linked from the University Web sites,
so access is not that wide yet -- pending YOUR comments and final
revisions. Also, if you are a current CSL member and have not provided a
resume or descriptive paragraph, that would be helpful. The page can be
viewed at http://www.cua.edu/~08masalonis/csl.cfm, however it will soon
be moved to either the Psychology site or, if possible, our own site on
the CUA server.
The long-awaited Automation and Human Performance:
Theory and Applications, by Raja Parasuraman and CSL affiliate
Mustapha Mouloua, was published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates this
summer. This book was one of the outcomes of the First Conference on
Automation Technology and Human Performance, organized by the CSL and
held in 1994 in Washington, DC. It also appears as the first in a series
edited by Barry Kantowitz called Human Factors in Transportation.
Automation and Human Performance is one of the first books of its
kind, blending theoretical perspectives in human-automation interaction
with practice-oriented chapters on specific domains of automation. Early
indications (e.g., the Erlbaum exhibit at the recent Human Factors and
Ergonomics Conference in Philadelphia) are that the book will attract
much attention and interest, which translate into good sales.
CSL Publications & Presentations
Greenwood, P. M., Parasuraman, R., & Alexander, G. E.
(in press). Controlling the focus of spatial attention during visual
search: Effects of advanced aging and Alzheimers Disease.
Neuropsychology.
Molloy, R., & Parasuraman, R. (1996). Monitoring an automated
system for a single failure: Vigilance and task complexity effects.
Human Factors, 38, 311-322.
Parasuraman, R., Mouloua, M., & Molloy, R. (in press). Effects of
adaptive task allocation on monitoring of automated systems. Human
Factors.
Singh, I. L., Molloy, R., & Parasuraman, R. (in press).
Automation-related monitoring inefficiency: The role of display location.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.
Did you know that Edward A. Pace, the founder of the
Department of Psychology here at CUA, was Wilhelm Wundt's fourth American
doctoral student? Before him were G. Stanley Hall, James McK. Cattell,
and H. K. Wolfe.
CSL Notes
Editor: David J. Hardy
CSL Notes is published quarterly (September, December, March,
and June) by the Cognitive Science Laboratory, The Catholic University of
America. Inquiries concerning subscriptions, submissions, suggestions, or
for general information on the CSL, should be sent to: Carol A. Cairns,
The Catholic University of America, Cognitive Science Laboratory, 620
Michigan Ave., Washington, DC 20064; or call 202-319-5825; fax
202-319-4456; or e-mail cua-csl@cua.edu.
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