A New Look at the Relationship Between Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities and Automation-Assisted Performance.

ObjectiveThis study explored whether and which cognitive abilities are supported by various levels of automation.BackgroundParasuraman's (2000) model of automation provided guidance for designing automation to augment cognitive tasks. Subsequent mixed empirical findings and evolving understanding of attention control in complex tasks suggested an evaluation of how automation supports cognition within a task was needed.MethodParticipants completed cognitive ability tests then a targeting task either manually or with information automation or decision automation.ResultsDecision automation supported working memory only when reliable, while attention control predicted performance regardless of automation level.ConclusionResults suggest automation can support specific processes like working memory, while attention control demands may persist across automation levels. However, because the task involved a relatively constrained form of automation, future research should examine whether these effects hold with more flexible, adaptive systems.ApplicationAutomation should target specific cognitive functions while recognizing that attention control demands may persist. Future research might investigate how other automation designs can better support this foundational ability.