Inferring Threat Assessment Strategies in Simulated Antiair Warfare (AAW) Operations
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to infer information processing strategies from details of an operator's overt responses in a simulated AAW task. A chief petty officer with experience in AAW operations served as an operator in an experiment varying task load and strategy instructions. A mathematical model was developed to test two plausible operator strategies: (1) a range strategy that prescribes 'fire at the closest eligible target'; and (2) a threat strategy that prescribes 'fire at the eligible target that will reach ownship the soonest.' The threat strategy is optimal in that it minimizes ownship's vulnerability. It was found that the operator's normal processing mode was to use a range strategy, but he could adopt the more complex threat strategy when so instructed. Vulnerability increased with the threat strategy, despite its optimality; presumably, this was due to its greater processing burden and reduced output rate. While performance declined with increasing workload, there was no evidence for a shift in processing strategy; rather, the effect of workload was to limit the depth to which the operative strategy was pursued. There was a tendency to prosecute targets in clusters based on proximities in bearing. This constituted a processing heuristic for coping with high workloads.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA144135
Entities
People
- Frank L. Greitzer
- R. L. Hershman