Context Effects in Subjective Mental Workload Ratings

The impact of performance context on subjective mental workload ratings was assessed with the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) and the NASA Task Load Index (TLX). In Experiment 1, a strong context effect was demonstrated. A low range of task difficulty produced considerably higher rat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human factors 1998-12, Vol.40 (4), p.591-600
Main Authors: Colle, Herbert A., Reid, Gary B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Ergonomics. Human factors
Evaluation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Methods
Occupational psychology
Performance standards
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Space life sciences
Task analysis
Task Performance and Analysis
Workload
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Summary:The impact of performance context on subjective mental workload ratings was assessed with the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) and the NASA Task Load Index (TLX). In Experiment 1, a strong context effect was demonstrated. A low range of task difficulty produced considerably higher ratings on a common set of difficulty levels than did a high range of task difficulty. In Experiment 2, increasing the participants′ range of experiences during practice eliminated the context effect. We recommend that methods for standardizing context, such as providing experience with the complete difficulty range, be developed for subjective mental workload evaluations. Actual or potential applications of this research include providing methodologies for controlling context effects in practical assessments of mental workload to increase the validity of subjective measures.
ISSN:0018-7208
1547-8181
DOI:10.1518/001872098779649283