Status or Recommendation: Selecting the Type of Information for Decision Aiding

Abstract

Decision aiding systems are becoming an important part of command and control. Selecting the best type of decision aiding information remains an important design decision. The research reported in this paper assesses the is to determine if a decision aid in an aircraft identification task should provide a recommendation for action or status information about the identity of the aircraft. Thirty-two subjects were equally divided into four groups: a control group where no decision aiding information was provided; a group who received only status information; a third group who received only recommendation information; and a fourth group who received both status and recommendation information. Results indicated that, in general, providing decision aiding information reduced the time required to identify the aircraft. Differences among the three types of decision aiding information occurred under those conditions when the decision aid was incorrect. When the decision aid provided inaccurate information, the group receiving only status information was least affected by the decision aid and was best able to correctly identify the aircraft. Recommendations for selecting the type of decision aiding information are discussed.