Division 21 of the American Psychological Association

ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY: BORDERING ON THE MAGNIFICENT

Peter Hancock

President APA Division 21, Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology

Early August saw the American Psychological Association (APA) hold its Annual Convention in Toronto, Canada. Embedded in this larger meeting was the gathering of Division 21, that of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology. The present communication provides a brief report of that meeting and some opportunities which have arisen from this gathering. We all know that Canadians are nice folks and Toronto is well worth a visit even if one does not have to attend a professional meeting however, the meeting itself had great intrinsic value independent of its attractive setting. Division 21 began with a very timely Symposium on issues concerned with Health in the Home. Organized by past HFES President Wendy Rogers, it featured a number of speakers who addressed the burgeoning HF/E issues associated with health issues beyond traditional health care facilities. Sara Czaja’s exposition on trust of on-line resources especially by older individuals was particularly timely. One advantage of Division 21 is the extended lecture format and this was evidently expressed in the highly informative presentation of Nancy Cooke, the current Editor of Human Factors. Her invited presentation dealt in detail with UAV operations and the ways in which more recent theorizing on situated team performance influenced such remote operations. It was a tour de force in how theory could drive practice and vice-versa. The session which follows featured two Award winners; Frank Drews (the recipient of the Alluisi Award for early career achievement) spoke on HF/E issues associated with medical devices and especially the issue of interruptions in impacting the propensity for error in medical systems. Anne McLaughlin (winner of the Briggs Dissertation Award) talked of her experimental work associated with individual differences, a vastly underserved topic as a recent special issue of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomic Science has explored. This year’s Presidential Address was delivered by outgoing President Scott Shappell who recounted his extensive experience in promoting systems safety with a special focus on aviation issues. The day culminated in a Division Dinner which is provided free for members (students please take note).

The second day of offerings began with Ron Shapiro again demonstrating the pedagogical attraction of using games to teach and explanation HF/E. This was followed by a special treat when Julian Hochberg, one of the greats of perception research, gave an invited address on the role of perception in real-world concerns. It was a privilege to listen to living history. The symposium which followed was organized by the Editor of The American Journal of Psychology, Robert Proctor, and featured among others the Editor of Memory & Cognition, Jim Nairne. Led off by Matt Rizzo’s involving exposition on “Neuroergonomics” the session also featured work on multi-modal display presentations and Proctor’s own work on stimulus response compatibility and systems deign around the world. The culmination of the days presentations was found in the ‘battle of the birds.’ Members of Division 21 collectively attended the Major League Baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. Played in the shadow of the CN Tower at Rogers Center, the American flyers dispatched their northern relations much to the chagrin of the partisan, but effervescently Canadian supporters. Some members even had a suite with a window over the park. However, the mystery of how that was obtained was never solved! The final full day of the program began with a special treat, framed using the ‘Convention within a Convention’ (CWC) format. Organized by Frank Durso and Nancy Cooke, it featured contributors to their latest text “Stories of Modern Technology Failures and Cognitive Engineering Successes.” Each speaker was asked to address a practical problem that they had helped solve using HF/E principles. Stories were recounted by Wayne Gray, Eduardo Salas, Jim Stawseski and Frank Drews, drawn together by Nancy Cooke summarizing commentary. CWC is a matrix approach which allows attendees to follow a cross-cutting track beyond the traditional Divisional lines. It was sad then that our session was only placed under miscellaneous, which is symptomatic of the general relationship between traditional concerns of psychology and HF/E issues. It is a concern that must be addressed. Further session saw special contributions by York University of Toronto and an especially interesting paper session which feature work on driving and automation. The Franklin Taylor Award address was given by Wayne Gray of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) whose discourse on William James and the issue of the ‘specious present’ in human-machine systems was especially well received. It illustrated admirably why Professor Gray was this year’s recipient. Final session saw work on Human Factors in Sports and a symposium especially directed toward what psychology can contribute to HF/E. In light of the earlier comment on Engineering Psychology and its more general relationship to mainstream psychology, the examination was most timely.

This meeting once again showed that HF/E cannot afford to be divorced from either of its parent disciplines. As the larger entities, both Engineering and Psychology are naturally taken up by their own fundamental concerns. It remains incumbent upon those of us in the interstitial regions between respective fiefdoms to constantly affirm our importance. If we are to affect the design, manufacture and use of current and forthcoming technologies, then a constant and lively dialogue must be sustained between our inter-disciplinary diaspora and those who see themselves as keepers of the respective ‘true faiths.’ Division 21 is proud to serve this function and once again to extend FREE (yes that is FREE) membership to students who would like to be affiliated with the group. Free dinner, free membership – can you afford to pass up this deal?

Details of such membership for students and regular membership for professionals can be had from Professor Dan Morrow of the University of Illinois. He can be contacted at: dgm@illinois.edu