Doctoral Dissertation Research: Towards a Theory of Mind Wandering in Relation to Task Type, Behavioral Responses, and Respective Adverse Consequences in the Cockpit

This Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant supports research by the co-PI to investigate the relationship between task-unrelated thinking, that is, mind wandering and the task that is being executed at the time. The research, focusing on behavior in a cockpit flight deck environment, will examine whether certain task features are related to higher incidence of mind wandering and whether incidents of mind wandering are related to human error. In terms of intellectual merit, the research will develop a theory of the consequences of mind wandering on task performance based on established findings in the existing literature, survey research and cognitive task analysis. The theory will be tested experimentally in the context of a simulated flight control system.

The broader impact of this research is that it will advance knowledge and understanding in Human Factors by defining a theoretical construct for mind wandering and developing metrics for measuring this construct in operator controlled systems. In addition, this research will yield a task-taxonomy to explain when mind wandering is most likely to occur and suggest new methods to periodically re-engage operators in ways that minimize fatigue, increase situation awareness, and improve performance in operator controlled systems.