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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