Toward A Cognitive Theory of Direct Interaction
Abstract
This report is a summary of work done on a project to develop a cognitive theory of direct interaction in the context of dynamic decision retargeting tasks in F/A-18 cockpit. At first, a comprehensive representational analysis was carried out for five navigation instruments (VOR, ADF, RMI, 747 and F/A-18) used in aviation. This analysis generated predictions about the degree of directness of interaction for the five sets of instruments for navigational positioning tasks and more complex retargeting tasks. Several series of experiments were designed to test the predictions and provide data for the refinement of the theory and the development of a computational model. The studies over the project period demonstrate that (a) the cognitive theory of direct interaction can systematically generate theoretical predictions that can be tested in experiments; (b) the methodology of representational analysis is a powerful and systematic tool for the analyses of the real-time retargeting tasks; (c) the Act-R based computational model has promising results; and (d) the analyses of the cockpit navigation instruments can be considered as recommendations for the design of future instruments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 15, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA381753
Entities
People
- Jiajie Zhang
- Todd R. Johnson
Organizations
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston