A Comparison of Rating Scale, Secondary-Task, Physiological, and Primary-Task Workload Estimation Techniques in a Simulated Flight Task Emphasizing Communications Load

Abstract

Sixteen potential metrics of pilot mental workload were investigated regarding their sensitivity to communication load and their intrusion on primary-task performance. A moving-base flight simulator was used to present three cross-country flights. The flights varied only in the difficulty of the communications requirements. Rating scale measures were obtained immediately postflight; all others were taken over a 7-min segment of the flight task. The results indicated that both the Modified Cooper-Harper Scale and the workload Multi-descriptor Scale were sensitive to changes in communications load. The secondary-task measure of time estimation and the physiological measure of pupil diameter were also sensitive. As expected, those primary-task measures that were direct measures of communicative performance were also sensitive to load, whereas aircraft control primary-task measures were not, attesting to the task specificity of such measures. Finally, the intrusion analysis revealed no differential interference between workload measures.