Effects of Workload and Auditory Interruptions on Emergency Dispatching Performance

Abstract

Interruptions and workload can cause frustration and decrements in performance, which can be especially detrimental in complex domains such as emergency response. Moreover, interruptions and notifications in such domains may be presented across different modalities, such as vision and audition. In this study, we are specifically interested in evaluating the effects of workload and auditory interruptions on performance in emergency dispatching, a complex and dynamic environment in which an operator must make time- and safety-critical decisions based on information presented across different modalities. An experiment was conducted with 41 student participants using a simulated emergency dispatching task. Auditory interruptions simulating new emergencies were introduced within the main task, which is to monitor the status of different emergency aid vehicles. Different scenarios were tested where workload was varied between low and high. Results suggest degraded performance in both the primary and interruptive task in high workload. Results also suggest a better ability to process the visual primary task while auditory information was presented in low workload than in high workload. The results add to the literature on the effects of interruptions and workload in complex domains, and their implications for designing displays in such domains.

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