Cognitive Ergonomics

This collection of papers illustrates how concepts, theories and techniques from experimental psychology can be applied in the domain of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). An experimental psychological basis for cognitive ergonomics is presented, built on a foundation of theoretical and experimental research. In addition, various issues in cognitive ergonomics are closely examined, including performance in specific interactive tasks - such as computer programming and program debugging. Other subject areas covered include database interrogation, text editing and graphics design.

Theoretical issues. Task knowledge structures: Psychological basis and integration into system design (H. Johnson, P. Johnson). Formal modelling techniques in human-computer interaction (G. de Haan, G.C. van der Veer, J.C. van Vliet). Errors and theory in human-computer interaction (P.A. Booth). Knowledge retrieval and frequency maps (G.M. Brown). Event controllability in counterfactual thinking (V. Girotto, P. Legrenzi, A. Rizzo). Computer programming and program debugging. Training of Pascal novices' error handling ability (C.M. Allwood, C.-G. Björhag). Models of debugging (D.J. Gilmore). Analogical software reuse: Emprirical investigations of analogy-based reuse and software engineering practices (A. Sutcliffe, N. Maiden). Database interrogation. An experimental study of the interpretation of logical operators in database querying (P.J.M.D. Essens, C.A. McCann, M.A. Hartevelt). Analysing the deep structure of queries: Transfer effect on learning a query language (L. Linde, M. Bergström). Adapting systems to differences between individuals (F. Jennings, D. Benyon, D. Murray). Text editing. Interference among text-editing commands: Fan-effects and the role of system consistency (M. Heydemann, R. Hoffmann, R. Schmidt). On the microstructure of learning a wordprocessor (Y. Wærn). Graphics design. The constraint satisfaction approach to design: A psychological investigation (F. Darses). Author index. Subject index.