Understanding and Measuring Cognitive Workload: A Coordinated
Multidisciplinary Approach

A collaborative project at George Mason University and San Diego State University

Research sponsored by the Department of Defense MURI Program through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grant No. F49620-97-1-0353
Program Officer: Willard Larkin

Continued from Page 1

SDSU Eye Tracking

Described here is the eye-tracking research carried out at the Cognitive Ergonomics Research Facility (CERF) at San Diego State University. In addition to the eye-tracking instrumentation acquired especially for this project, CERF has three other eye-tracking systems that are being used on other Department of Defense projects. Thus, CERF has a complete and extensive eye-tracking capability, including the ability to record data at other locations. Two of the systems are portable and can easily be transported to other research facilities for data collection.

Study 1: Tracking Tests of Spatial Reasoning

The first study involved tracking the eye movements of 30 undergraduate students who completed the San Diego Test of Reasoning Ability (SANTRA). This test, created by Johnson & Saccuzzo (1993), is a research alternative to the well-known Standard Raven Progressive Matrices. Each subject responded to 60 test items presented on a 17-inch computer monitor. Point-of-gaze coordinates and pupil dilation were measured at a sampling rate of 60 Hz.

Study 2: New Psychophysiological Measures

From the data of Study 1 as well as from data collected in projects funded by the Office of Naval Research, we have reviewed extensively the various measures proposed in the research literature about measuring and interpreting pupil dilation. Using new technology and advanced mathematical theory, we have created a new technique for analyzing the pupil signal. This technique allows us to separate the irregular fluctuations of light reflex that are ordinarily present in the signal from the dilations that occur as the result of effortful cognitive processing. A patent application is pending on this procedure.

Study 3: Tracking a Small Battery of Tests (ongoing)

For this study, subjects will complete a battery of short tasks, each requiring different cognitive skills. The study will allow comparison across subjects for each task as well as comparison within subject for tasks with differing cognitive complexity. The experiment is currently being conducted at CERF.