Subject and tasks of engineering psychology (26)
§ 1. DEFINITION OF ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
Engineering psychology is a science that studies “man - technology” systems 1 in order to achieve their high efficiency and develops psychological foundations:
Design of equipment and organization of technological process control;
Selection of people who have the necessary level of individual psychological professionally important qualities to work with certain equipment;
Professional training of people who use complex technical devices in their work activities.
Engineering psychology as a science has a dual character. On the one hand, this is an independent psychological discipline that studies human beings. the entirety of mental manifestations in the labor process. On the other hand, in engineering psychology there is a pronounced technical, engineering aspect relating to the design of equipment. This is due to the peculiarity of the most dual by nature object of study - the “man - technology” systems.
This duality of the object of research in engineering psychology gives rise to a number of specific methodological features. In addition, it should be borne in mind that any “man - technology” system is a kind of microelement of the macrosystem, which is played by the system of productive forces. Therefore, in the “man - technology” systems, a number of general patterns of development of productive forces appear, which are determined by the presence in them of material (primarily technical) and subjective (human) principles. One of these patterns concerns the determining aspects of the productivity of social labor. The productivity of social labor at each level of development of the productive forces is determined, firstly, by the perfection of technology, and secondly, by the accumulated production experience of people, their work skills. All this is reflected in the effectiveness of man-technology systems. The effectiveness of each such system will be determined by the performance and reliability of the equipment, the preparedness of the person, and the coordination of the performance characteristics of the person and the equipment.
Another general pattern is related to the fact that productive forces exist in unity with production relations. The socialist mode of production predetermines labor as the primary vital need of man, the basis of his all-round development. The capitalist mode of production inevitably gives rise to the alienation of labor, its dehumanization, which destroys personality. If we consider the “man - technology” system from these positions, we can conclude that the conditions of socialism make qualitatively new demands on technology. Although technical policy both under capitalism and under socialism is aimed at creating productive and reliable technical devices, under socialism technology must not only ensure a highly efficient production process, but also serve the development and improvement of man, expanding his knowledge, nurturing a creative attitude towards labor.
By solving issues of coordination between man and technology as elements of a single system, engineering psychology substantiates and formulates requirements and recommendations for the design of equipment, for the organization of technological process control, and for the selection and training of specialists servicing equipment. These requirements are joined by the requirements of other psychological disciplines, as well as physiology, hygiene, anatomy, anthropometry, and biomechanics.
Engineering psychology widely interacts with such disciplines as cybernetics, systems engineering and general systems theory, communication theory, automatic control and regulation theory, reliability theory, technical aesthetics and artistic design, etc.
Engineering psychology also forms the core of a vast field of scientific knowledge called ergonomics 2 .
The boundaries of this area are outlined mainly by interdisciplinary connections of engineering psychology. Ergonomics usually considers the “man - technology - environment” system, thus strengthening, first of all, the physiological and hygienic aspect of research and recommendations. Without denying the legitimacy of this concept of the system under study, we only note that the concept of the “man - technology” system used in engineering psychology is based on the position that any system operates under environmental conditions that can have one or another effect on the system. Taking into account environmental factors has always been mandatory in engineering and psychological research and practical development of “man-machine” systems.
It should be noted that engineering and psychological studies of human labor activity, activities associated with new and cutting-edge technology, are of high importance in the general sense of human cognition. Labor activity is characterized by the establishment of an endless variety of relationships with the surrounding physical, biological and social environments. It is in work activity that all the individual psychological characteristics of a person as an individual, as a subject of activity, are accumulated and most clearly manifested. The results of studies of human behavior in automated systems, in addition to the obvious applied significance, are also important for the general system of human knowledge.
§2. GOAL AND STRATEGY OF ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
The entire complex of theoretical and practical engineering-psychological research has the main goal, as indicated above, to ensure high efficiency of “man - technology” systems. The effectiveness of any system is determined by its performance and reliability under such other equal conditions as, for example, the quality of the product (result), durability, energy consumption, etc. It is clear that the effective operation of man-machine systems requires highly productive and reliable equipment; further, the design of equipment and the organization of the production process must allow a person to realize all technical capabilities. And, finally, a person must be capable of realizing these opportunities, achieving high labor productivity and ensuring the implementation of production operations.
Achieving the main goal of engineering psychology is carried out, firstly, by improving the technological characteristics of the labor process, and secondly, due to the characteristics of the labor process and working conditions that stimulate a person’s labor activity and, ultimately, his attitude towards work.
Improving the technological characteristics of the labor process means the following:
Minimizing the time required to complete individual actions and operations in the labor process;
Elimination of gross errors such as blunders in work activity;
Minimizing the likelihood of errors that negatively affect the progress of the technological process, the quality of the product (result) or negatively affect the condition of equipment or people;
Maintaining high (specified) human performance for a long (specified) time by minimizing energy consumption (mental and physical stress) in the labor process 3.
By improving the characteristics of the labor process that stimulate human labor activity, we mean, first of all, the following:
Reliability of technical devices;
Rational design of equipment;
Compliance of the complexity of the technology with the level of human preparedness;
Perfect aesthetic appearance of technical devices and production premises;
Absence of harmful and interfering external factors.
Of course, human labor activity is stimulated not only by improving the characteristics of the labor process. A significant role is played here by social conditions that determine a person’s entire attitude to work. However, one cannot underestimate the role of the characteristics of the labor process in shaping a person’s personality and in creating a high level of motivation for this type of work activity. The conditions of a socialist society impose, as indicated above, qualitatively new and, in principle, more stringent demands on technology, on it. development and improvement, since “automation and comprehensive mechanization serve as the material basis for the gradual development of socialist labor into communist labor” (CPSU Program. M., 1961, p. 67).
§3. TASKS OF ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
Theoretical problems engineering psychology are associated with the study of man as a subject of activity, with the study of the informational essence of all forms of mental reflection, mental regulation and mental (psychophysiological) states in the process of work activity and in the preparatory period, when vocational selection, education, training are carried out, as well as with the disclosure of basic patterns human interaction with people and technology in human-technology systems 4. In engineering and psychological research, as a rule, much attention is paid to finding out what mental and physiological processes and how they are implemented when processing information by a person operating a machine. The study of human information systems, patterns of encoding external signals, the formation of a mental image and its regulatory function is one of the main aspects of engineering psychology.
Practical problems Engineering psychology concerns the coordination of man and technology as elements of a single system. Coordination is understood, firstly, as the maximum adaptation of technology to a person (according to design and technological process parameters); secondly, the maximum adaptation of a person to technology (in terms of professional suitability and professional preparedness); thirdly, the rational distribution of functions between humans and automatic devices in human-technology systems.
Adaptation of technology to humans should be carried out through a series of consistent, targeted engineering and psychological developments at all stages of design. In general, they constitute the essence of the engineering and psychological support for the design of automated control systems. Engineering and psychological support for system design is at the same time the design of human activity. During the period of operation of technology, its adaptation to humans is very limited and becomes possible only with modernization 5 .
The adaptation of technology to a person affects the structural and functional aspects of their interaction.
Structural adaptation is associated with the organization of the sensorimotor field in work areas, taking into account the working position of sitting or standing. The basis for structural adaptation is the following data:
The size and shape of the human body and its individual parts;
Limits and nature of movements in the articular system;
Strength characteristics of the muscular system;
Field of view;
Analyzer sensitivity.
In accordance with the specified data, the following technical parameters are determined:
Dimensions and shape of the control panel and chair;
Dimensions and shape of control panels;
Dimensions and shape of controls (manipulators, pedals);
Volume, direction and nature of movements of controls;
Control resistance;
Dimensions and shape of instrument panels;
Measurements of elements of indicating parts of devices;
Signal strength (visual or auditory).
The functional adaptation of technology to a person is associated with the peculiarities of the activity of the human information system. The initial data for solving issues of functional adaptation are:
Volume and time of perception;
RAM capacity and duration of information storage;
Structural-temporal characteristics of thinking;
Features of attention;
Features of performances;
Limits of regulation of voluntary movements;
Features of movement coordination;
Peculiarities of interaction between analyzers.
In accordance with this, when developing technology, the following parameters are determined:
Number of signals and frequency of their arrival;
Duration of signal existence;
Signs of the attractive effect of signals;
Mnemonic signs of signals;
Signs of reflection in the signal of the essential characteristics of the object - the source of information;
The relationship between changes in indicator elements and movements of controls;
Correspondence of signal characteristics to a person’s ideas about the real situation, about the object;
Placement of indicators and controls in accordance with their significance and order of use;
Completeness of the information representation of the object. An important issue in coordinating the characteristics of man and technology, as mentioned above, is the adaptation of man to technology. It includes vocational guidance, vocational selection and vocational training.
Based on the needs for a certain professional activity, the requirements imposed by a particular profession on a person, and the qualities that a person must have to successfully perform this activity, vocational guidance. Its goal is to ensure the optimal distribution of people in various professions, which is achieved, firstly, by professional propaganda and professional education aimed at developing knowledge about the profession necessary for an informed choice, sustainable motivation and methods of self-training and development of professionally important qualities; secondly, career counseling, which involves a preliminary psychological (and usually medical) examination followed by a recommendation regarding the choice of profession.
Professional selection(vocational selection) aims to determine the suitability of people for training and subsequent professional activities. Vocational selection is carried out on the basis of an assessment of various psychological and other (medical, social) indicators obtained as a result of examination, study of documents, interviews, observation of behavior, competitive exams, etc. Of the psychological indicators, the most frequently assessed are indicators of attention, thinking, memory, voluntary reactions, intellectual abilities, anxiety, emotional stability, determination, discipline, honesty, sociability, ideological conviction, integrity, etc.
As a result of professional selection for training in professional activities (taking into account forecasts of successful work after training), first of all, people who have a high level of individual psychological qualities necessary in this professional activity should be recommended. Further, all persons who have obvious contraindications to this activity or such a low level of initial training that does not allow them to hope for successful training within the given time frame should be excluded. During the training process, the results of professional selection are clarified (by excluding persons whose conclusion about their professional suitability turned out to be erroneous).
Vocational training is one of the essential aspects of human adaptation to technology. This is primarily vocational training aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities. Learning is initially carried out primarily through training; Moreover, the initial stage of training can only be associated with the development of professionally important qualities (attention, speed of action, etc.).
The coordination of man and technology as elements of a single system is associated with the need to resolve issues of distribution of functions between man and machine (automatic machine). When solving these issues, it is established which functions are best left to a person, and which should be performed by automatic devices. Consequently, both human labor activity in its form and content, and the automation policy in relation to various types of technical systems will significantly depend on the distribution of functions. The distribution of functions between a person and an automaton is usually carried out according to the principle of preferential capabilities.
Stability of performing monotonous actions;
The speed of performing computational operations, calculating numerous options in order to find the best according to given criteria;
Large memory capacity and quick retrieval of necessary data;
Fast and accurate classification of relatively simple signals at low levels of interference;
The use of forms of energy to transmit information to which human receptors do not have specific sensitivity (for example, electromagnetic oscillations in the radio wave range);
Performing operations strictly according to specified programs and algorithms;
Insensitivity to the influence of the social environment;
Relative simplicity of creating protective (from the external environment) devices.
The main advantages of a person can be considered:
The ability to detect and identify signals in conditions of high noise levels, in the presence of special camouflage measures, etc.;
The ability to make decisions based on generalization of data and knowledge related to various fields of science, technology, and production;
The ability to develop an individual style of activity as an effective adaptation measure;
The ability to find new solutions, new ways of performing work (technological) operations;
The ability to receive information through various sensory channels, easily move from one modality of signals to another;
Ability to accumulate information and use accumulated experience to improve ways of working;
The ability to use various indicators and controls to interact with technical devices;
The ability to increase interest in work due to the presence of a creative, search component in the labor process;
Ability to remain ready to act in unexpected situations;
The ability to find new ways in unexpected (emergency) situations.
Of course, a person can maintain a relatively high and stable level of performance only for a limited time. During work, a person can be distracted, he gets tired and, therefore, the speed and accuracy of his actions can be significantly reduced. In terms of long-term stability of monotonous work, the machine is undoubtedly superior to humans; it is capable of performing tens of thousands of counting operations. However, a person has undeniable advantages when working in difficult conditions; he also has enormous compensation capabilities; in a short time he can not only fully restore his working capacity, but also perform work at a higher level.
It is obvious that in any control system, functions between a person and automatic devices must be distributed in such a way as to ensure the possibility of manifestation of all those qualities that have been accumulated in modern man as a result of the labor activity of previous generations. In this regard, automatic devices, from the simplest to the most complex, are designed, first of all, to ensure high-performance and reliable operation of systems, while freeing a person from those functions for which he is least adapted, and maximally presenting in the work process the functions that best suit human qualities as an individual, as a subject of activity.
1The concept of the “man - technology” system is used as a general one. It can be applied both to cases when the system includes one person and one or more technical devices, and to cases when the system includes several people and complex technical devices.
2Ergonomics can hardly yet be considered as an independent science, although statements of this kind take place in the literature. The cardinal solution in the formation of ergonomics as a science can only be the development of methodological foundations and specific research methods.
3Work activity has always been and will be associated with a certain physical, and in conditions of automated production, primarily mental stress. Based on the general requirement to ensure safe and harmless working conditions in our country, the above should be understood as the exclusion of loads that sharply worsen the functional state or negatively affect human health.
4In connection with the above, it is necessary to especially emphasize that along with | With the study of the formal (primarily quantitative) side of the psyche in engineering psychology, great attention should be paid to the content side. This is necessary, firstly, because engineering psychology is faced with the task of studying a person as a subject of activity, and secondly, because it is necessary to develop assessments of the semantic characteristics of information.
5During the period of operation, adaptation of equipment to a person can also be carried out due to those adjustments that are provided for in the design process. This is, for example, changing the seat height of a chair in relation to a person’s height, changing the volume or brightness of a signal depending on specific working conditions, etc.
Engineering (technical) psychology(from fr. ingenieur- engineer, specialist in the field of technology) - this is an area (industry) psychology, which studies the psychological aspects of human interaction with technical devices in order to design and use them in efficient, reliable and safe operating modes.
Prerequisites for the emergence of engineering psychology:
1. Development of technical progress, mechanization and automation of production.
2. The emergence of many new professions related to technology and computers.
3. Widespread use of machines, computer technology, information models for individual and collective use.
4. The constant complication of the activities of a person performing the functions of an operator due to the continuous improvement of technology and automation of production processes.
5. An increase in injuries and functional morbidity of people interacting with technical systems at work and at home.
6. Insufficient efficiency of technology, its high accident rate due to unsatisfactory consideration of human functional capabilities and psychological patterns in the design of these systems.
When working with technology, a special technical problem arose - the problem of taking into account the psychological capabilities of a person. An intensive study of the limits of human capabilities, the speed of information processing, research into the patterns of fatigue when working on certain technical means began, and all this with the intention of designing new technology adapted to human capabilities. This became possible thanks to the combination of engineering and psychological research. It is at the intersection of technology and psychology, as well as as a logical continuation of the development of engineering and experimental psychology a new area of knowledge has emerged - engineering psychology.
Engineering psychology- a branch of psychological science that studies the objective laws of the processes of information interaction between man and technology with the aim of using them in the practice of designing, creating and operating “man-machine” (HMC) systems. Engineering psychology studies the human factor in technology .
How psychological science engineering psychology studies the mental processes and properties of a person, finding out what requirements for technical devices arise from the characteristics of human activity, i.e. solves the problem of adapting technology and working conditions to humans.
Like technical science engineering psychology studies the principles of designing systems taking into account the psychological and physiological characteristics of a person; studies control panels, machine cabins, processes and algorithms of their functioning to determine the requirements for the psychological and physiological characteristics of the human operator.
Object of engineering psychology – interaction in the “Human-Machine” (HMC) system. Human in this system is called an operator. Under the car refers to any technical device (calculator, locomotive, car, computer, etc.) through which a person carries out work activities. Engineering psychology covers all types of technology. Engineering and psychological research is necessary wherever we are talking about the creation of certain devices designed for the perception, representation, thinking of a person, for his actions.
Subject of engineering psychology – psychological patterns of interaction between man and technology and ways to optimize this interaction, including the processes of receiving, processing, storing information by a person, decision-making and mental regulation of control actions. Since a person remains the leading link in the organization of work activities, the main attention is paid to the activities of the human operator and the difficulties that he has to face in the process of performing technical tasks .
The problem of human-machine interaction also determines the main goal of engineering psychology- increasing the efficiency and safety of systems.
Tasks of engineering psychology:
General theoretical tasks:
1. Maximum adaptation of technology to people (according to design and technological parameters).
2. Maximum adaptation of a person to technology (according to the parameters of professional suitability and professional preparedness).
3. Rational distribution of functions between humans and automatic devices in human-technology systems.
Often a person makes mistakes not because he has not mastered the profession, but because his psychophysiological capabilities are limited: the speed of transmitted information exceeds the capabilities of the senses, the shape of the signals turns out to be difficult for a person to comprehend. If, when creating a new technology, the laws of perception, attention, memory and thinking, the mental properties of a person and the dynamics of his mental states are not taken into account, then this means that human error is already “embedded” in the technology being created.
Particular practical tasks:
1. Diagnostic:
Analysis of human functions in human control systems, study of the structure and classification of operator activities.
Study of perceptual and mnemonic processes of information transformation by a human operator. The transformation of information by a person includes four stages: receiving information, processing received information, making decisions, implementing control actions.- Studying the influence of psychological factors on the effectiveness of man-machine systems.
2. Operational:
Development of principles for constructing operator workplaces.
Study of operator functional states
Development of principles and methods of professional training of operators in MFM (professional selection, training, team building, training).
Engineering-psychological design and evaluation of human-machine systems.
Work in engineering psychology is carried out in the following areas:
1. Study of the structure of operator activity - its psychophysiological and psychological aspects;
2. Engineering and psychological design;
3. Psychological support for the scientific organization of work;
4. Professional selection - selection, training and placement of personnel.
The most important task of civilization is
teach a person to think.
T. Edison
Most people are involved in a certain professional activity, which they choose for various reasons: some by vocation, others by coincidence or the advice of loved ones. But in any case, every person needs to know about the psychological characteristics of his professional activity.
If you have chosen the profession of an engineer, then let's try to understand the psychology of engineering. Sometimes they mistakenly think that engineering psychology deals with this, but its subject is completely different - it studies the psychological aspects of information interaction between man and technology. Labor psychology can give us the most knowledge about the psychology of an engineer, the characteristics of his professional and personal qualities.
Labor psychology is a field of psychology that studies the patterns of formation and manifestation of human mental activity, his individuality in the process of labor and professional activity.
Occupational psychology examines issues of professional suitability, psychological readiness for professional activity, and its psychological characteristics.
In this section of our book, we will try to give a psychological analysis of engineering activity through the compilation of professiograms, a psychological portrait of different types of engineering activity.
What are professiogram and psychogram?
Professionogram – a description of the socio-economic, production and technical, sanitary and hygienic, psychological and other features of the profession. The most important part of the professionogram is the psychogram - a description of the demands made by the profession on the human psyche.
A detailed analysis of professionography is given in a textbook on labor psychology (M. A. Dmitrieva and others). We will consider and analyze one type of professional activity - the activity of an engineer.
The engineering profession arose as an occupation associated with the application of knowledge in the practice of construction and industry. Today, this professional activity covers almost all spheres of material and spiritual production, management, and culture. According to the definition of S. A. Tikhomirov, an engineer is a subject engaged primarily in symbolic activities aimed at research, normal operation, improvement and development of technical objects or organization of production based on the use of scientific and technical knowledge and means of mental labor corresponding to his era.
The most important feature of engineering activity is the solution of technical problems associated with multivariate uncertainty and, therefore, the need to choose the most appropriate way to solve them. The cognitive stage of engineering activity involves a transition from empirical-technical knowledge to technical-scientific, and the creative stage is the embodiment of experience and knowledge in specific images of new technology.
The subject of engineering activity is technology in the broad sense of the word. The essential features are:
the indirectness of its impact on the material substrate of technology;
scientific validity, i.e. the use of scientific knowledge;
taking into account the time and cost factors when solving technical problems, i.e. a practical attitude to technology.
They serve as means of engineering labor.
scientific knowledge in the form of ready-made formulas, dependencies of various quantities, calculation methods contained in reference books and instructions;
socio-technical norms - standards, technical specifications, industry norms, safety regulations, etc.;
information about the state of the material and technical basis of the society, fixed in catalogs, lists of product ranges, etc.;
information and computing technology for collecting, processing and presenting technical information.
The results of engineering activities are presented:
in symbolic form - drawings, diagrams, programs, graphs, technological maps, calculations, descriptions;
in a written or oral order, instruction, explanation.
The structure of the engineering profession is complex and diverse. It is determined not only by the internal characteristics of activity, but also by the social division of labor, as well as by the state of the technical basis of society. The engineering profession includes a large number of engineering specialties that differ depending on the technical object (subject) of activity: electrical engineer, civil engineer, radio engineer, systems engineer, etc. In addition, the structure of the engineering profession can be considered in terms of types engineering activities, differing in tasks, subject, means and result of work.
Research engineers are responsible for shaping principles and creating new research solutions. The subject of research activity is the content of a technical object, and the task being solved is a scientifically based search for optimal operating principles and methods of interaction that can be used to create new or improved technological objects. Therefore, the activity of a research engineer requires the ability to organize experimental work, the development of formal-logical and conceptual components of thinking, critical judgment, the ability to predict, analyze and generalize the results obtained.
Design engineers are engaged in developing projects and solving design problems. They abstract from the principle of operation of the object and pay attention to the design, the diagram of the technical device: location, interaction. The main task of the designer is to find the optimal combination of design elements of a technical device (for example, a device), taking into account the impact of environmental factors on it. A design engineer creates a symbolic form of a technical object (for example, in the form of a drawing), moves from a general image of a device or system to designing the structure and elements with varying degrees of detail. The designer solves the question: what does the system as a whole consist of and how does it work? Thus, the nature of the activity of a design engineer requires the development of imaginative thinking, spatial imagination, combinatorial abilities, a penchant for analogies, and the ability to operate with symbolic information.
Process engineers ensure the production of a structure (technical object) using existing or developed technology. The subject of their activity is a method of manufacturing a technical object that is reliable and efficient in operation, with minimal expenditure of time, labor and materials. The activities of process engineers accumulate the results of the activities of all other engineers and include the functions of a designer (design of technological processes, selection of technological equipment), a production worker (rational organization of interaction between people and equipment in the production process, increasing the efficiency of use of equipment), and an operator (monitoring the correct operation). A typical result of the work of a process engineer can be considered a set of technological documentation such as technological maps, which is a verbal description of the sequence of operations for the manufacture of components, elements, and devices. Important professional qualities of a process engineer are a penchant for analysis, systematic and logical thinking, and the ability for reconstructive activity, i.e., the transition from abstract to concrete thinking.
Organizing engineers organize a team or groups of people to carry out research, design, technological and production tasks; carry out administrative and economic work on planning and organizing production, selection and placement of personnel, technical support of production, labor protection and people management. The result of their activities is a way of organizing people to perform a collective technical or production task.
It is obvious that each type of engineering activity places specific requirements on the specialist performing it.
Based on models of professional activity of a complex intellectual and practical type developed in psychology, we propose a model of professiograms of engineering work (Fig.). This is a complex hierarchical system with direct and feedback connections.
The basis of any activity is a search cognitive component, which involves identifying a problem, complex contradictory situations, and the subject of research. Engineering activity also begins with search. Then the process seems to branch into two parallel, but closely interconnected stages. From search activities there is a transition to prognostic and research activities, the main task of which is to put forward hypotheses, search for new technologies and form conceptual models. At the same time, the results of both search and forecasting activities must be consolidated in appropriate diagrams, drawings, signs, descriptions, which is served by sign activity.
Figure 4.4.1. Model of professional activity of an engineer
On the basis of the new principles and models put forward, constructive activity is built, which involves the search for new designs and the construction of a new technical object. This activity is very closely related to symbolic activity, since at this stage the engineer creates the symbolic form of a technical object. The most important link in the work of an engineer is communication: communication with different specialists, exchange of information at all stages.
The creation of a new design involves a transition to the next type of activity - verification and testing, where the structures are tested and the technological process is established. Here, a necessary component is organizational activity, which includes managing people and organizing their work, as well as managing the process of introducing the results of engineering activities into production. The model is completed by social activities designed to assess the social significance of labor results, as well as the social consequences of the introduction of new technical solutions. This stage is associated with the engineer’s performance of social functions in society.
The professionogram model identifies certain cycles and connections between individual and group activities of engineers. In addition, a model of a separate type of engineering activity can be isolated - research, design, technological, operational and organizational.
For successful professional activity, it is often not the psychological properties or qualities of the employee themselves that are important, but their combination, which contributes to the achievement of the best results. It has been proven that it is possible to form an individual style of activity, determined by the typological characteristics and system of actions that develop in a person striving for the best implementation of this activity.
When considering the issue of professionally significant properties, we must, on the one hand, evaluate their stability, immutability and, on the other hand, the possibility of development, correction and compensation in the process of learning and professional activity. It is important what professional tasks the value of this or that property is associated with, what is the range of its individual differences and, finally, how this property is included in the personality structure of a working person.
The most detailed socio-psychological analysis of the engineering profession was given by E. S. Chugunova. She identifies general and special abilities necessary in the work of an engineer: the ability to make inferences, analyze and synthesize material, knowledge of one’s activities, breadth of vocabulary, general level of culture, development of spatial concepts and memory. For the manifestation of creative activity in engineering activities, general indicators of intellectual achievements, socio-psychological attitudes and personal characteristics (emotional-volitional and communicative) are important. The results of experimental studies allowed us to conclude that the intellectual factor (development of verbal and non-verbal intelligence, speed characteristics of thinking, etc.) is of system-forming importance for creative activity in engineering activities.
Technical thinking is considered as a special intellectual activity aimed at changing reality and creating something new. A specific feature of technical thinking is its reliance on visibility and manipulation of spatial images of technical objects. The following qualities of design and technical thinking are distinguished: 1) technical understanding, i.e. recognition of the structures and functioning of technical objects; 2) the ability for structural-functional and element-systemic transformations of objects in the form of visual images; 3) the ability to recode visual-spatial images into conventional graphic images (projections) and, conversely, conventional two-dimensional images into three-dimensional visual images; 4) productive manipulation of images, combining parts and systems as a whole, functions and individual features of technical parts and blocks, i.e. the ability to combine, the ability to think by analogy and contrast. An engineer, especially a researcher and designer, needs mathematical abilities, which constitute a special substructure of qualities that are professionally significant in engineering. Mathematical abilities include:
1) the ability to formally perceive mathematical material, to “grasp” the formal structure of a problem;
a penchant for logical thinking in the field of quantitative and spatial relations, numerical and symbolic symbolism;
the ability to quickly and widely generalize mathematical objects, relationships and actions; 4) the ability to curtail the process of mathematical reasoning and the system of corresponding actions; 5) flexibility of thought processes in mathematical activity; 6) the desire for clarity, simplicity, environmental friendliness and rationality of decisions; 7) the ability to quickly and freely rearrange the direction of the thought process, switch to the reverse course of thought (reversibility of the thought process in mathematical reasoning). Mathematical memory is also distinguished into mathematical relations, typical characteristics, patterns of reasoning and proof, and a general synthetic component: the mathematical orientation of the mind.
All of the above qualities related to technical, mathematical and design thinking are considered by researchers to be professionally significant in the work of an engineer.
Along with intellectual abilities, a number of authors note the undoubted influence of an engineer’s orientation, his motivation, attitude towards professional activity, towards himself and some characterological characteristics on the efficiency and effectiveness of work. The connections between various substructures of an engineer’s personality are essential: intellectual, emotional, communicative properties, and characteristics of motivation.
Each type of engineering activity makes certain demands on the psychological qualities of an individual. Without taking into account these qualities, neither effective training of engineers nor their rational use is possible.
The activity of a research engineer is creative, exploratory in nature and therefore, along with deep knowledge of general theoretical and special subjects, involves the development of such psychological qualities as high stability and concentration, verbal and non-verbal components of thinking (in particular, abstract-logical), criticality of judgments . A high level of general technical awareness and the ability to comprehend and interpret scientific and technical concepts are required. Researchers may have significant trait anxiety along with high self-esteem. Overall performance is above average. In terms of personal and characterological traits, first of all, a predominant focus on the cognitive (cognitive) type of activity, as well as low conformity, introversion, internal conflict (dissatisfaction) in combination with a certain practicality, determination and conscientiousness are distinguished.
According to the typology of N. N. Obozov, based on the three-component structure of human behavior and distinguishing its three types: thinker, interlocutor and practitioner, the predominant mass of researchers can be classified as “thinkers”.
Brief characteristics of this type: cognitive, cognitive style of activity predominates; prefers mental, research work; loves to think about life, science and art, to fantasize; introverted, i.e. focused on his internal reasoning. Peculiarities of thinking and decision-making: strict logic and proof of mental constructs, high development of the sign function, ability to work with various sign systems, rigidity. Thinkers are usually distinguished by a wide range of interests in the cognitive sphere (the main interest is the knowledge of the new and non-standard), therefore, it is important for research engineers to develop both humanitarian inclinations (focus on the person) and technical ones (focus on the subject).
For a more complete description of researchers and the success of their scientific activities, it is important to take into account the problem of relationships in scientific activity, which is closely related to the issues of generating new knowledge, optimizing collective scientific activity, and the problem of mechanisms of individual creativity. The problem of subject-reflexive relations of employees is put at the center - deep, internalized, subject-mediated relations of a scientist with the scientific community. The deepest layer is the reflexive work of consciousness, aimed at reconstructing the image of the world, as well as understanding the peculiarities of how others perceive its ideas, approaches, and methods. The system of such subject-reflexive relations influences the motivation * norms of behavior, the quality of the individual creative product of scientists.
Studies of role relationships have made it possible to identify several types of role behavior in a scientific team: critics, generators of ideas, scholars, organizers, masters, communicators, performers.
The work of a design engineer is of a more applied nature, which corresponds to the focus on practical activities. Significant characteristics of attention, as for a research engineer, are stability and concentration. A high level of efficiency and accuracy are required when performing settlement operations. The designer has a predominant non-verbal, figurative component of thinking.
It is necessary to develop spatial imagination and ideas, the ability to operate with digital and symbolic information. Designers are characterized by low personal anxiety and are emotionally stable. By nature, engineers involved in design activities often have lower self-esteem than research engineers, while at the same time, like the latter, they are uncommunicative, rational, conscientious, and decisive.
An important feature of the activities of organizational engineers is close interaction with people (colleagues and subordinates). This leaves an imprint on the requirements for the psychological qualities of this category of engineers. Organizers must have good attention span and high speed of psychophysiological reactions; they need emotional stability and low anxiety. The predominant component of thinking is verbal. The general focus on communication activities, self-esteem and social status are high. By nature, organizers differ from other categories of engineers in their sociability, pronounced tendency towards leadership, and realism.
The professional self-determination of an engineer begins from the moment of choosing a profession. During the period of study at a technical university, the development and restructuring of motives occurs, the individual’s attitude towards himself as a subject of future professional activity changes, which creates the prerequisites for further professional self-determination. True, the conditions for training an engineer at an institute differ in many respects from the conditions of real professional activity. During their student years, future specialists almost do not encounter the requirements and features of practical, in particular, industrial activity (with the exception of industrial practice in senior years). The educational activity of a student is qualitatively different from the activity of a certified engineer. However, neither the successful acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities during preparation at a university, nor the reduction of the period of adaptation to new working conditions is possible without the development of professional self-awareness, subject-reflective relationships in scientific and subject-related activities. The development of self-awareness and reflection is possible through knowledge and disclosure of one’s individuality, internal potential, and creative capabilities.
Introduction
1. Definition, object and subject of engineering psychology
2. History of the emergence and development of engineering psychology
Conclusion
List of sources used
Introduction
The modern scientific and technological revolution is characterized by extremely profound changes in technology, affecting both its substantial side (i.e., associated with the materials used and the processes of nature used), and the structural and functional (i.e., associated with the differentiation and systematization of the means of labor, with complication and integration of technology on the way to automation). One of the consequences of the unity of the scientific and technical revolutions is that modern social production is determined not only by the level of development of technology, but also by the level of development of science. A specific scientific discipline may have a controlling influence not on all, but, for example, only on one of the elements of the productive forces. However, as the productive forces develop, an objective need arises for sciences capable of exerting a direct control influence on all elements of the system of productive forces. Modern psychological science can be classified as such general sciences.
The control influence of psychological science as a whole is carried out in the course of solving the following problems:
1) engineering and psychological design of equipment and production conditions of human activity;
2) development of psychological and pedagogical methods and means of personality formation and professional training of workers for the sphere of material production;
3) development of the psychological foundations of the scientific organization of labor and management of work collectives and production.
Thus, the tasks of psychological science as a direct productive force have a clear focus on the field of labor psychology and engineering psychology. Labor psychology and engineering psychology, carrying out control functions in the process of creating modern technology, “man-technology” systems, necessary working conditions and preparing a person for work in the field of material production, provide a real basis for the manifestation of control functions of other psychological disciplines.
The implementation of control functions always requires certain conditions. An analysis of the current state of the system of psychological knowledge allows us to conclude that the first necessary condition associated with overcoming the “barrier of descriptiveness” is currently being successfully fulfilled, when science in its development accumulates the potential necessary to perform executive functions.
There is a second condition - the level of technology and modern production and the level of personnel training for production, which determines the objective need for the use of psychology.
In such conditions, when man and machine in production are in close contact (currently in information contact), a comprehensive study of the “man-machine” system becomes necessary. This is what engineering psychology does.
This essay is intended to consider the object and subject of engineering psychology in order to more fully understand what it does, as well as observe the history and development of engineering psychology.
1. Definition, object and subject of engineering psychology
Like any other scientific discipline, engineering psychology has an object and subject of its research. The object of science is recognized as that side of reality, the study of which this science is aimed at. The subject represents that side of the object of science as it is presented in it.
Engineering psychology is a branch of psychology that uses the knowledge of psychological science in practical activities.
Engineering psychology is a science that studies “man - technology” systems in order to achieve their high efficiency and develops psychological foundations:
Design of equipment and organization of process control;
Selection of people who have the necessary level of individual psychological professional qualities to work with certain equipment;
Professional training of people who use complex technical devices in their work activities.
The main object of study of the entire system of psychological disciplines is man, his mental processes, states and properties.
The object of engineering psychology is “a human operator, a person carrying out labor activity, the basis of which is interaction with the machine, the object of labor and the external environment through remote control.” (M. A. Kotik)
Engineering psychology is closely related to occupational psychology. Labor psychology studies psychological patterns, mental processes and personality traits in their relationship with objects and tools, with the physical and social environment.
Describing the processes of interaction between man and technology, engineering psychology has gone through several stages in its development: 1) adaptation of technology to man; 2) adaptation of working conditions to the person; 3) transfer of human labor functions to technology.
Technical re-equipment of production leads to a change in the functions and role of humans in production activities. A person transfers a number of labor functions to a machine and receives new opportunities: he begins to regulate and control huge flows of energy and information, complex technological processes.
Consequently, the level of human responsibility for control errors and the importance of the human factor in the development of new equipment and the operation and organization of modern technological processes increases.
When organizing the relationship between man and machine, the main role belongs not so much to the anatomical and physiological, but rather to the psychological properties of a person, which ensure information interaction between man and technology. Such interaction is the subject of engineering psychology.
Engineering psychology is a scientific discipline that systematically studies the interaction between man and technology.
An integrated approach to the study of interaction between man and machine was laid down historically (1921) in the scientific ideas of V.M. Bekhterev and his students.
This methodology eventually led to the formation of the concept of a man-machine system (HMS). The MFM refers to a system that includes a human operator and a machine. A machine is understood as a set of technical means used in an activity.
Within the framework of this system, the functioning of technical devices and human activity are considered in an interconnected, comprehensive manner.
The “man-machine” system is a special case of control systems. When organizing the relationship between a person and a machine in the MFM, the main role belongs to the psychological properties of a person. His information interaction with a machine largely depends on the psychological properties of a person. The need to study these properties in SFM led to the emergence of engineering psychology.
Engineering psychology studies psychological patterns, mental processes and personality traits in their relationship with objects and tools, with the physical and social environment.
Engineering psychology is a scientific discipline that studies the objective laws of the processes of information interaction between man and technology with the aim of using them in the practice of designing, creating and operating HMS.
2. History of the emergence and development of engineering psychology
For centuries, psychology developed in close connection with the natural, social and philosophical sciences and had almost no connection with technology. The turn of psychology towards industrial production took place under the pressure of economic demands.
The basis of engineering psychology is the psychology of work, the origin of which is associated with the name of I.M. Sechenov. Having become interested in the reflex nature of mental processes, I.M. Sechenov turned to studying the role of these processes (primarily sensations and perceptions) in labor acts. He raised “the question of the formation of labor skills (“learned movements”) and for the first time showed that in the process of learning the nature of regulation changes (the function of the regulator moves from vision to kinesthesia). I.M. Sechenov introduced a new concept of active recreation as the best means of increasing and maintaining performance. The works of I.M. Sechenov have not lost their significance for theory and practice today.
The scientific origins of engineering psychology can be traced back to 1900, when the German psychologist W. Stern introduced the term “psychotechnics” into scientific circulation. The prerequisite for its development was the stock of experimental data and scientific facts accumulated in psychology and physiology, which found practical application in various fields of production, medicine, pedagogy, and economic life. Thus, a study of the sensitivity of the analyzers revealed individual differences, suggesting that it is necessary to select people with lower sensitivity thresholds for those professions that require high visual acuity, hearing, or other senses. Observations indicating the different effects of different colors on the psyche led to attempts to use color as a stimulant for the production activity of workers, for the treatment of certain mental illnesses, etc.
The second, no less important circumstance that stimulated the development of applied psychology was the socio-economic conditions, the fact that the transition of capitalism to its highest stage - imperialism - was accompanied by an unprecedented intensification of competition, an intensification of the pursuit of super-profits. In search of means to squeeze out maximum profits, capitalists turned to psychology, setting it the task of increasing the efficiency of workers. This position of entrepreneurs was later formulated by Robert Lagan as follows: “The art of better using the energy of groups of people is now becoming the most important factor in the development of enterprises, since at present all enterprises can have practically unlimited and equal sources of capital, equipment, energy, and raw materials. The only way they differ from each other is the selection of personnel and their management.” The goals of capitalist exploitation of workers were served by Taylorism, an exhaustive assessment of which was given by V.I. Lenin. Psychotechnics also served the purposes of exploitation, no matter what its theorists said about the “supra-class™” of their science. One of the central trends in psychotechnics was professional selection, based on the idea of innate abilities and on the principle of a person’s unambiguous, fatal destiny for any one profession. The widest range of works aimed at studying professions and developing test methods with the help of which they sought to determine professional suitability overshadowed other areas. This has led to the fact that even in our time the concepts of psychotechnics and vocational selection are often perceived as identical. Meanwhile, psychotechnicians have conducted a lot of research devoted to identifying and eliminating the causes of worker fatigue, rationalizing the work regime, developing work skills, creating the necessary work motivation, and organizing the workplace. The embryo of the future engineering-psychological direction can be considered such work as choosing the most rational arrangement of letters on a typewriter keyboard, taking into account motor reaction time. There are well-known works by V. Stern devoted to the criteria of the value of testimony, taking into account the patterns of attention, memory, and the influence of affect; the famous Russian lawyer F. Koni once referred to them. Psychotechnicians were occupied with the problem of advertising: its impact on the conscious and subconscious mind of a person. The English psychotechnician Dill Scott developed a system of economic pedagogy - a system for educating workers and uniting them into “single teams” with entrepreneurs. But, of course, the most prominent place in psychotechnics was occupied by professionography and professional selection. One of the brightest pages is included in this section by the famous psychotechnician Hugo Munsterberg. He developed test systems for the professional selection of telephone operators, carriage drivers, and naval navigators, prefacing his recommendations with a thorough analysis of these professions. Of particular interest is the installation he proposed for selecting tram counselors, which made it possible to evaluate the speed of action, on the one hand, and caution and vigilance, on the other. This installation was a drum with a paper tape, which the subject rotated at a speed convenient for him. Numbers appeared in the slots of the drum, indicating certain elements of the road situation, and the subject had to name the letter index of the situation that he considered dangerous. The integral indicator of success combined both the sign of speed and the sign of error-freeness. Münsterberg wrote that he sought to reproduce the psychological essence of the profession of a counselor, that is, in modern language, to simulate activity. Naturally, this approach “allowed him to achieve significant reliability of forecasts; the number of accidents (and losses of the tram company) decreased sharply, and the popularity of psychotechnics increased noticeably. Subsequently, G. Münsterberg called psychotechnics the whole set of ideas about the practical application of psychology to cultural problems. He for the first time clearly sets the task of using the findings of psychological science in practical activities.
The main drawback of psychotechnics was the mechanistic understanding of the ability to act as a set of properties that are unrelated and unchangeable. To diagnose abilities, sets of short-term tests were used - tests that provided very incomplete information about certain mental properties.
Under capitalism, where the supply of labor always exceeds demand, the goals of professional selection and career guidance began to be supplemented, and in some cases completely distorted, by political goals. The selection was carried out not so much according to the criterion of a person’s psychological suitability for work, but rather according to the principle of his political reliability. Numerous professional selection services and professional consultation offices became a kind of instrument to pacify workers, a means of racial and political discrimination.
Nevertheless, the desire of psychology to go beyond scientific laboratories and to get in touch with practice was at one time a positive phenomenon, which aroused interest in it in all countries. Special magazines were published and international psychotechnical congresses were held. In our country, psychotechnics as a means of practical application of psychological knowledge experienced a period of intensive development in the 20s. Psychotechnical laboratories are emerging in Moscow, Leningrad, Kazan, Kharkov and other cities. Work on the study of professions is being widely developed, and professional selection is being carried out.
In 1927, the All-Russian Psychotechnical Society was created. The journal “Psychophysiology of Labor and Psychotechnics” is published (since 1932 it became known as “Soviet Psychotechnics”). Along with the use of traditional professional selection, in which the test methods of bourgeois science were uncritically borrowed, Soviet psychotechnics achieved a number of undoubted achievements. Schemes and methods of professionography were developed that have not lost their significance to this day. Research was carried out on the dynamics of performance and fatigue depending on a number of factors, and the process of mastering skills was studied. In the works of leading scientists, thoughts were expressed about the variability of abilities, about the possibility of compensating some properties with others.
Almost at the same time (1857), another applied area of psychology appeared - ergonomics. This term, which translated from Greek means “law of work,” was proposed by V. Yastrzembowski, understanding by it the science of labor.
The ideas of psychotechnics and ergonomics in Russia were supported by Academician V. M. Bekhterev and Professor V. N. Myasishchev. V. N. Myasishchev considered professional psychology as a very significant section of personality psychology, since he believed that “professional activity is the most important manifestation of a person’s personality.”
Academician Bekhterev's students V.N. Myasishchev and A.L. Shcheglov (1921) classify their research area as ergology and ergotechnics.
It is important to note that Bekhterev and his students were among the first to use an integrated approach when studying a working person.
Thus, even in the pre-revolutionary period in Russia, a baggage of scientific ideas, methods, and experience in studying labor for applied purposes developed. Scientists tried to apply this experience in Soviet Russia.
An analysis of the development of psychotechnics in the USSR allows us to highlight a number of features:
1) from the very beginning it was attributed to the psychology of work and the object of consideration was the “man-technology” system, where issues of labor rationalization become a priority; 2) in the 20s, psychotechnics received significant development, and by the mid-30s, the entire direction was closed; 3) further research within psychology subsequently leads to the emergence of engineering psychology.
In 1957, engineering psychology was defined as an independent field of study. A significant role in the organization and consolidation of research work in engineering psychology belongs to the laboratory of industrial (engineering) psychology created at Leningrad State University in 1959, headed by B.F. Lomov.
In its development, engineering psychology went through 2 stages:
1) at the initial stages, the “machine-centric” approach dominated;
2) later the “anthropocentric” approach comes to the fore.
Thus, in the process of development of engineering psychology, a transition is made from relatively simple and specific questions to more complex and general ones, from the study of individual elements of activity to the study of activity as a whole. This logic was associated with the development of an integrated approach that studies the general patterns of control processes in qualitatively different systems. With an integrated approach, man and machine are considered as components of a single complex system.
Lomov (1966) believed that in the “man-machine” scheme, a person is considered as a link of a special kind: organizing the system, directing it to achieve a certain, predetermined result. The main thing in a person as a subject of labor is the readiness for extraordinary actions in difficult situations and the ability to reflect on one’s work.
With this approach, a psychological study of the structure of human activity becomes necessary. In understanding the essence of mental phenomena, the most important task is to identify objective connections between the social and natural properties of a person, the relationship between biological and social foundations in his development.
In the 70s, the development of methods for designing the “man-machine” system began. At the same time, the problems of analyzing the activities of people involved in management, design and generalization of assessments of the functioning of “man-machine” systems began to be solved.
Thus, engineering psychology as a scientific discipline simultaneously solved 2 problems: 1) adapting a person to technology; 2) adaptation of technology and working conditions to the person.
In connection with the technical equipment of production, as well as the armed forces, the question of human control of complex equipment arises after high-quality training and retraining of the human operator.
All the main functions of managing complex equipment come down to the transformation of information circulating in a given system.
Under these conditions, it is no longer the physical and physiological functions of a person that have become the main limiting factors for the success of the subject of activity, but his cognitive functions and emotional state. Therefore, engineering psychology as a scientific discipline begins to study the objective laws of the processes of information interaction between man and technology with the aim of using them in the practice of designing, creating and operating human-machine systems (HMC).
The rapid development of engineering psychology, which has become an independent, extremely productive branch of labor psychology, has led to a restructuring of its conceptual apparatus, which, thanks to the enrichment of technical terminology, has become not only broader, but also more strict.
Thus, the development of engineering psychology in Russia as an independent scientific direction from the very beginning was subordinated to solving practical problems. Today, “Engineering Psychology” is one of the scientific branches of psychological knowledge.
Conclusion
The “Man-Machine” system is constantly in dynamics; for this and other reasons, engineering psychology regularly has to develop.
In the process of development of engineering psychology, there was a transition from the study of individual elements of activity to the study of work activity as a whole, from considering the operator as a simple link in the control system to considering him as a complex, highly organized system, from a machine-centric approach to an anthropocentric one.
In connection with the approaching era of nanotechnology, a new direction in psychology is being formed - nanopsychology, the tasks and problems of which were formulated by R.R. Garifullin. Therefore, new challenges will arise for engineering psychology, and its history of development will continue.
List of sources used
1. “Work psychology and engineering psychology”, Dmitrieva M.A., Krylov A.A., Naftelev A.I.
2. “Fundamentals of engineering psychology”, Alekseenko T.F.
ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY, a branch of psychology that studies human cognitive capabilities in order to optimize his interaction with technical devices and the artificial environment (for example, virtual reality). The central task of engineering psychology is the study of the processes that determine the possibilities of operational understanding of a situation and action in it: attention, sensorimotor coordination, perception, memorization, imagination, thinking, communication and decision making. An important role in engineering psychology is played by the study of the limitations imposed on human capabilities by motivation, emotions, as well as states of fatigue and stress, depending on the work and rest regime and the psychophysiological resources of the body. Engineering psychology closely interacts with engineering and technical disciplines (computer science, robotics, ergonomics, technical aesthetics, etc.). These connections and the growing role of the human factor in the functioning of technical systems have led to the fact that instead of the term “engineering psychology” in a close context, terms such as “cognitive ergonomics” and “human factors engineering” (English Human Factors Engineering) can be used.
Engineering psychology arose during the Second World War and the subsequent military-technical competition between the USSR and Western countries, but the formation of similar problems occurred within the framework of work on psychotechnics and occupational psychology. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, psychologists (F. Bartlett, G. Münsterberg) distinguished between the tasks of external psychotechnics (adaptation of technical devices to human capabilities) and internal psychotechnics (training personnel to work with new equipment).
The development of engineering psychology can be divided into 3 periods. 1st period (until the beginning of the 1960s) - on the basis of statistical communication theory (see Information theory), attempts were made to give a universal mathematical description of the limitations of the information processing abilities of man and machine. A number of restrictions were discovered that characterize the capabilities of human attention and immediate memory (D. Broadbent, J. Miller, etc.), but in general the restrictions turned out to be extremely flexible, depending on individual experience and subjective interpretation of the situation, in contrast to the strict limitations of the capacity of known technical systems.
2nd period (until the beginning of the 1980s) - the main thing was to study the specifics of information processes in humans with the aim of optimal distribution of functions between man and machine. Thus, it turned out that vigilance tasks (detection of unlikely critical events) are better to trust to a machine rather than to a person, who has fluctuations in attention and specific difficulties in making decisions. On the other hand, memorizing large amounts of information and recognizing images was at that time considered one of the areas in which a person is more effective than a computer. The real triumph of engineering psychology during this period was the implementation of manned flights into space.
3rd period (since the 1980s) - as a result of partial computerization of production and management, the shortcomings of automation became the central problem of engineering psychology. If easy tasks have been simplified due to their automation, then difficult tasks have become even more complicated due to the complexity of the systems themselves, and also due to the fact that they have to be solved suddenly, when the operator may no longer understand what state the automated system is in and what it is going to do. do. The solution to these problems is to create intelligent, or adaptive, interfaces that take into account the degree of understanding of the situation and the psychophysiological stress of the operator (see Artificial Intelligence). In connection with the widespread use of computers, the main task of cognitive ergonomics has become the development of interfaces that are as convenient as possible for the mass user (English usability).
An important contribution to the development of engineering psychology was made by Russian psychologists. At the dawn of production automation, the principle of the “active operator” was formulated, according to which the human operator should not be excluded from the control chain, retaining active functions in it (B.F. Lomov). Another basis for modern developments has become the principle of correspondence between the model of the situation created by technical means and the representations (“operational image”) of the operator himself (V.P. Zinchenko, D.A. Oshanin). Works in the field of psychological support for aviation and astronautics (F. D. Gorbov, G. M. Zarakovsky), as well as the study of the functional states of a person engaged in complex types of operator activities (V. A. Bodrov, A. B. Leonova, V.I. Medvedev).
Current research into creating adaptive human-computer interfaces has led to the emergence of a new field - cognitive technologies that take into account the user's attention and intentions. In particular, based on a combination of information technologies with bio- and nanotechnologies, cognitive technologies are being developed that will allow fundamentally new forms of interaction between people with each other and with technical devices, including direct (so-called non-command) forms of interaction mediated by computer-brain interfaces (the field of neuroergonomics emerging at the beginning of the 21st century).
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B. M. Velichkovsky.
