Circadian Effects on Simple Components of Complex Task Performance

摘要

The goal of this study was to advance understanding and prediction of the impact of circadian rhythm onaspects of complex task performance during unexpected automation failures, and subsequent faultmanagement. Participants trained on two tasks: a process control simulation, featuring automated support;and a multi-tasking platform. Participants then completed one task in a very early morning (circadian night)session, and the other during a late afternoon (circadian day) session. Small effects of time of day wereseen on simple components of task performance, but impacts on more demanding components, such asthose that occur following an automation failure, were muted relative to previous studies where circadianrhythm was compounded with sleep deprivation and fatigue. Circadian low participants engaged incompensatory strategies, rather than passively monitoring the automation. The findings and implicationsare discussed in the context of a model that includes the effects of sleep and fatigue factors.