ISOPERFORMANCE FROM DISPARATE COMBINATIONS OF PRACTICE SELECTION AND EQUIPMENT

AN INNOVATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY IS PROPOSED TO PERMIT MEANINGFUL ANALYSIS OF TEST/EVALUATION CRITERIAL FOR MAN/MACHINE COMBINATIONS. THREE AREAS: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES (HUMAN BASIC CAABILITIES, APTITUDES), PRACTICE EFFECTS (INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING) AND CRITERIA FOR HUMAN ENGINEERING OF EQUIPMENT DESIGN WILL BE TREATED AS VARIABLES AND WILL BE SET OFF IN EXPERIMENTAL APPOSITION IN ORDER TO BE STUDIES TOGETHER. A FORMAL ANALYSIS WILL BE DERIVED WHICH WILL PERMIT TRADEOFFS BETWEEN THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EACH OF THESE AREAS. THE HUMAN FACTORS LITERATURE WILL BE SURVEYED FOR CANDIDATE STUDIES WHERE THE ANALYSIS CAN BE EXERCISED AND TESTED. THEN, AS A MEANS OF DEMONSTRATING THE EFFICIENCY OF SUCH A MODEL, A MULTIFACTOR EXPERIMENT USING A LOW-COST HOME COMPUTER SYSTEM WILL BE PROPOSED. THE TASK WILL BE A MICROPROCESSOR BASED VIDEO GAME REQUIRING PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLS AND DECISION MAKING, AND THE EXPERIMENTAL FACTORS TO BE VARIED WILL INVOLVE EQUIPMENT FEATURES AS WELL AS TASK DIFFICULTY, SUBJECTS AND TRAINING. THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE DESIGNED SUCH THAT THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALL THE FACTORS TO PERFORMANCE ON THE TASK CAN BE DETERMINED.