Interorganizational

Engineering Psychology: Bordering on the Magnificent

By Peter A. Hancock, President, APA Division 21, Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology

     In early August, the American Psychological Association (APA) held its annual convention in Toronto, Canada. Embedded in this larger meeting was the gathering of Division 21, Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology. This article provides a brief report of that meeting and some opportunities that have arisen from this gathering.

     The meeting had great intrinsic value independent of its attractive setting. Division 21 began with a timely symposium on issues concerned with health in the home. Organized by past HFES President Wendy A. Rogers, it featured a number of speakers who addressed the burgeoning HF/E issues associated with health care beyond traditional health facilities. Sara J. Czaja's exposition on trust of online resources, especially by older individuals, was particularly timely.

     One advantage of Division 21 is the extended lecture format, and this was evidenced in the highly informative presentation by Nancy J. Cooke, the current editor of Human Factors. Her invited presentation dealt in detail with unmanned aerial vehicle 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 that followed featured two award winners: Frank A. Drews (recipient of the Division 21 Alluisi Award for early career achievement) spoke on HF/E issues associated with medical devices and especially the role of interruptions in the propensity for error in medical systems. Anne C. McLaughlin (winner of the Division 21 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 Ergonomics Science has explored.

     This year's presidential address was delivered by outgoing President Scott A. Shappell, who recounted his extensive experience in promoting systems safety with a special focus on aviation issues.

     The second day of offerings began with Ronald G. Shapiro, who demonstrated the pedagogical attraction of using games to teach 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 that followed was organized by the editor of the American Journal of Psychology, Robert W. Proctor, and featured, among others, the editor of Memory & Cognition, James S. Nairne. Led off by Matthew Rizzo's involving exposition on neuroergonomics, the session also featured work on multimodal display presentations and Proctor's own work on stimulus-response compatibility and systems design around the world.

     The final full day of the program began with a special treat, framed using the "Convention within a Convention" (CWC) format. (CWC is a matrix approach that allows attendees to follow a cross-cutting track beyond the traditional divisional lines.) Organized by Francis T. Durso and Nancy J. 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 he or she had helped to solve using HF/E principles. Stories were recounted by Wayne D. Gray, Eduardo Salas, James J. Staszewski, and Frank A. Drews, drawn together by Nancy Cooke's summarizing commentary.

     Further sessions saw special contributions by Toronto's York University and an especially interesting session that featured work on driving and automation. The APA's Franklin Taylor Award address was given by Wayne D. Gray of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, whose discourse on William James and the issue of the "specious present" in human-machine systems was especially well received.

     The final session featured work on human factors in sports and a symposium especially directed toward what psychology can contribute to HF/E.

     This meeting once again showed that the HF/E field cannot afford to be divorced from either of its parent disciplines. As the larger entities, both engineering and psychology are naturally taken up with 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 interdisciplinary diaspora and those who see themselves as keepers of the respective "true faiths." Division 21 is proud to serve this function and once again extends free membership to students who would like to be affiliated with the group.

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