EFFECT OF VARIATION OF THE DRIFT PARAMETER ON CONTROL OF A STOCHASTIC PROCESS
Abstract
This research examines man's ability to control a simple process whose systematic drift is obscured by random variations. Of the many combinations of systematic drift and random variation possible in such a process, four were investigated experimentally. Under two of these conditions the process would, if uncorrected, tend to diverge from the control limits. Under the other two conditions the process would tend to remain within or return to the control limits. For the two explosive conditions an appropriate control strategy would be to correct the process before it exceeded the control limits. For the two self-controlled conditions an appropriate strategy would be to correct infrequently. Subjects corrected before control limits were exceeded more frequently under the explosive conditions than under the self-controlled conditions. However, under the self-controlled conditions the subjects corrected more frequently than necessary. This suggests that when operating a self-controlled process humans do not behave optimally. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0292144
Entities
People
- William H. Pearson
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory