Cognitive ergonomics

As an UAS student, you are actively looking for information, seeking, collecting and producing it. The amount of existing information increases all the time, and its distribution channels are also multiplying. How do I work in a goal-oriented manner? Where can I find information? How do I use it? How do I digest the information I found? How do I summarise and document it? How do I cope with all of this?

Cognitive ergonomics examines human interaction with work and operating systems from the data processing point of view. Attentiveness, as well as perception, memory and thinking capacities, set the boundary conditions for the interaction between people, work and technology.

Cognitive ergonomics are a means of evaluating a person’s way of handling information in the development of operating environments, tools, and work practices. The questions addressed relate to the interaction between humans and information technology, usability and cognitive load:

1. How could the capabilities of and limitations in human perception, attentiveness, memory and thinking be taken into account?
2. How should visual information be presented so that it can be perceived reliably and effortlessly?
3. How could cognitive overload be avoided?

Nowadays, the overloading of the working memory is a familiar phenomenon: if there is too much information, we become unable to recapitulate, reproduce and process all the information long enough for it to be stored more permanently in the long-term memory. Many psychological factors such as mood, state of alertness and motivation affect memory performance. Factors related to work arrangements, tools and the work environment also burden the memory.

Our work is often interrupted in our everyday life for a variety of reasons. We may follow many things at the same time, without actually concentrating properly on any of them. This is also guided by our habits. We may think that we can easily monitor and create content for different kinds of channels simultaneously, while at the same time a news feed displays highlights on our computer screen, we hear the ding of a received e-mail or WhatsApp message and switch to check it whilst also writing a study-related assignment on our computer. Our actions often consist of doing multiple things simultaneously, multitasking.    

An abundance of information received is stressful, because with each message, document or update received, the recipient must decide how to process this particular piece of information. Additionally, it must be assessed whether each piece of information is useful now, in the near future or later, or not at all. Memory overload becomes manifest as forgetting and learning difficulties. It can be seen, for example, as:

• an increase in the number of errors and inaccuracies
• actions slowing down and becoming tangled up
• a loss of essential information and getting lost in information or systems.

The objective of cognitive ergonomics is the effectiveness, smoothness and safety of the work process and wellbeing during work and study.

Reflection assignment

• Is your studying smooth, inspiring and motivating?
• How do you process information?
• How do you use the study tools? And the social media?
• Does your studying involve information loading, multitasking and interruptions?
• How can you reduce the load and ensure a good learning outcome?