Working Memory and Human-Machine Systems

Abstract

In conducting research in psychology, there is commonly a division between those researchers who consider themselves to be theoretical and laboratory based, and those who pursue primarily an applied emphasis. In the case of cognitive psychology, the applied work is often subsumed under the heading of cognitive ergonomics or human factors. This form of specialization in theory or in application is very well established in North America. However there is something of a tradition in the U.K. of the same individuals conducting both theoretical and applied work, stemming largely from the work of Bartlett in Cambridge in the 1930s and 1940s. The advantage to specialization is that an individual can become quite expert in his own particular field. The disadvantage is that interesting, important, and highly relevant developments in the complementary specialization may be missed. Indeed it is almost a truism to say that of the many hundreds of theoretical cognitive psychology papers published each year, only a very small proportion of even the good ones are applied in any way. Thus there is a very large knowledge base on human cognition that is largely untapped. The responsibility for this may lie with the typical method of dissemination in the form of complex experimental reports or theoretical reviews. Equally the problem may be a function of the volume of material available and the workload experienced by human factors specialists. Either way, it seems worthwhile exploring whether this largely untapped resource might aid the process of validation and verification.