Designing Technology with the Human Mind in Mind : Part 3
Working Memory
Intro: This is the 3rd in a series of articles to discuss what behavioural science knows about human cognition for those in product development. The 1st article explained why product makers should understand human cognition and introduced the dual system model of cognition (aka “Thinking Fast & Slow”). The 2nd article dove deeper into one part of that dual system model, “The filter.” This article introduces Working Memory. Future articles will dive deeper into cognitive workload, stress, leadership, motivation, among other topics. All articles will explain why this knowledge is important to making technology that has a great user experience.
Working Memory
All information that is sensed by the human sensory systems passes through the filter, which can choose to (a) act and bypass working memory, (b) “ignore” information, or (c) pass the information on to working memory. The information passed onto working memory can be individual sensations or it can be patterns. These patterns can be complex including numerous types of sensations and/or series of sensations (see 2nd article for more information). Once in working memory, the information is then processed in three stages: (1) situation awareness, (2) decision making, and (3) action. Working memory is also where the processes of metacognition (thinking about our thinking) & sensemaking (creating or adding to the patterns in long term memory) occur. All processing in working memory requires what are called attention resources. Cognitive workload is defined as the number of resources required by working memory to complete a task in relation to the number of resources available.
Situation Awareness
The first stage, situation awareness, is a key input to making good decisions. Though there is some debate within the scientific community (summary of debate available here), situation awareness is most commonly defined as “the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status” (Endsley, 1988). More succinctly there are three levels of Situation Awareness: (1) perception, (2) comprehension, and (3) projection.
- Perception: awareness that something is in the world. In other words to what degree did an individual accurately see, hear, smell, taste, or feel.
seeing an icon on your smart phone
2. Comprehension: the assignment of meaning to the relevant information in the world. That is knowing what it is that you saw, heard, smelled, tasted, or felt.
understanding that the icon is a button that can be touched
3. Projection: ability to predict how what you perceived could change.
knowing what will happen when the button is touched.
Though these are presented serially, they may not be serial. This is because all 3 levels can be passed on by the filter as a single pattern. If what is sent on by the filter does not contain all 3 levels, then they must be achieved in working memory from the various sensations and patterns that are passed on. The degree that a pattern represents complete situation awareness the higher the expertise on that topic and no resources are needed by working memory to obtain situation awareness.
Decision Making
Decision making is the process of choosing what action (including no action) to take to accomplish one’s goal. Though I have presented situation awareness and decision making as serial processes, that isn’t necessarily the case. While considering what action to take, one can realize that they are lacking situation awareness and then work to increase situation awareness.
Creativity and innovation are taking an action that is novel. They are no different than any other decision making. Most of us our stuck in our own patterns. Children tend to score higher on tests of creativity than adults, because they have fewer patterns in their long term memory. This allows them more flexibility of thought. Our most innovative and revolutionary ideas come from people who sit in multiple fields. This is because they have different patterns in their long term memory than those who work in only one field.
Action
Is the impact we take on the world, including speaking. Most of the actions adults take require no active processing. That is once we have decided to take an action, we do not need to consciously think about what muscles to move or how to move them. But if you spend time with young children you can see how writing letters requires a great deal of effort. If you participate in sports, you are aware how there is a stage where it takes effort to move muscles in ways that improve your capability.
Beyond the OODA Loop: Sensemaking & Metacognition
The processes of working memory we have discussed so far are what Col. John Boyd termed the OODA Loop. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, & Act. Observe is essentially the first level of Situation Awareness (perception). Orient is equivalent to the second and third levels of Situation Awareness (comprehension and projection). Decide and Act are clearly decision making and action.
There are more processes than these that occur in working memory. Sensemaking is the process of developing patterns in long term memory to be used by the filter. This process can be a conscious process like when we are intentionally learning something new. That said all processing in working memory contributes to these patterns as well.
Metacognition is defined as thinking about thinking. When we are aware of how patterns are or have impacted out ability to develop situation awareness, make decisions, or take actions, or are able to regulate the patterns, we are engaging in metacognition. There is a great deal of overlap of metacognition and sensemaking — but they are not the same. As we have to be aware of the processes for metacognition. This also means we are engaged in a task that does not use all the cognitive resources available.
So What?
Mental model mismatch is a significant error that can occur when the user interface leads the user to have an inaccurate understanding of how the system functions. Mental models are a type of pattern people build up over using a system. It is how users think the system works. When how the users think the system works does not align with how the system works, there can be catastrophes. Humans cannot be the backup for heavily automated systems, like AI. Humans must be partners. The best partners have a mutual understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses.
The most often cited example of this is Three Mile Island. The controllers had the mental model that a valve was shut, when it was open. Thus, they could not properly diagnose the alarms and reduce the impact of the incident. Chernobyl had similar issue, but with added organizational challenges.
Mental model mismatch can be prevented by the techniques of Ecological Interface Design (EID). The primary principle of EID is displaying the relationships between components used by the system. Displaying these relationships helps to promote accurate mental models. Ecological interface design is based on a thorough understanding of the dual system model of cognition — in particular sensemaking and the filter.
Understanding the dual factor model is important to understanding cognitive workload, trust in automation, complacency, and other factors important for a good user experience. Understanding the dual factor model is also important to being a good leader/manager and team mate. Future articles will dive deeper into what behavioural science (particularly cognitive science) knows about human system performance. In the next article we will cover workload and stress. Future articles will cover leadership and motivation.
