Psychology professor receives funding to examine the role of cognition in human-autonomy collaboration

Richard Pak, psychology professor and director of the Human Factors Institute at Clemson University, has received more than $560,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine how cognitive abilities, including attention and memory, influence users’ performance with automated systems.

According to Pak, the goal of automated technology is to improve human performance by taking over certain psychological processes, such as perception, attention or memory. However, with the rapid evolution of autonomous technology, there are gaps in understanding how individuals’ cognitive ability impacts performance outcomes.

Through his extensive research on individual differences in cognition and human-automation interactions, Pak has found that automated technology does not always benefit its human user, and researchers must better understand how cognition influences performance when humans collaborate with automation.

“Research shows that automated technology does not benefit users equally – enhancing performance for some and inhibiting performance for others,” said Pak. “In order to improve technological systems for all users, especially vulnerable populations who are at higher risk for negative performance outcomes, we must understand which cognitive abilities are supported by automation.”

The project will specifically assess relationships between individuals’ working memory, attention control, fluid intelligence and performance with real-world automation systems to determine when and why technology improves or impairs performance.

This research builds upon Pak’s existing work to determine the importance of attention control – defined as an individual’s ability to voluntarily choose what to pay attention to and what to ignore – in task performance. He and his collaborators have developed and validated an efficient measure of attention control and identified the areas in which existing automation does not support variations in this cognitive ability.

Research findings from his NSF project will be used to improve general design principles for automation by translating the theoretical concept of attention control into systems that are beneficial to all users.

“The benefits of automation should not be limited to users with certain cognitive abilities over others,” said Pat Raymark, chair of the Department of Psychology. “Dr. Pak’s research will provide a deeper understanding of how emerging technologies, such as driver assistance systems in vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, interact with human users. This work will benefit people and communities across our state and nation as he provides practical, evidence-based design improvements so all users experience positive performance outcomes with automated systems.”

As director of the Human Factors Institute, Pak leads a multidisciplinary team of human factors researchers from more than 10 academic departments across the University. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

The Department of Psychology is in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in nine disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.