Cognitive Ergonomics

Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana

Human Cognitive Abilities and Skills-V

So, continuing the lecture on cognitive ergonomics. In this lecture number 7, we are going to
talk about thinking and language. What do we understand with thinking? Thinking can be
seen as a significant component in human computation. It help us not only in manipulating the
information, but analyzing the information which we are processing. Currently, sometime it
can be very active and sometime it can be passive in nature. The information which we are
manipulating or analyzing depends as per our need.

As we studied in the working memory processing that there are four different components
involved in the working memory. So, thinking can be seen at a high level and in a collective
form. So, whatever information we are collecting from the environment as per our need, we
try to club them and process them together. Now, this thinking can be sometimes very simple
to us and sometimes can be complicated to us.

It can be organized and goal oriented. As earlier we studied that organization of information
is very important. And how are we organizing it? We are organizing it as we think. So based
on mental model, based on cognitive mapping, based on schema. So, once we have a
knowledge structure, once we have built a form of information and organized this information
in our brain, then it becomes easier for us to process that information.

And from time to time, we revive this structure, we revive this information and from time to
time we save this information for future reference. Thinking involves information that we have
already stored and represented in our mental image as we mentioned earlier. Now, as we
studied earlier about the schema, we have a mental representation, knowledge structure in our
brain and this schema helps us from time to time to compare the two information together. If
the information is same, then we process that information. If there is a distinction, if there is a
dissimilarity, then we process the information differently.

As you can see on your screen, different stimuli of dogs are present here. They belong to
same category that is dog, but they have a unique characteristic. Each of these species are
found in different country or region across the globe. They are also from different breeds. So,
this is a specific information which is present under one category of a dog.

Similarly, we also have an information what dog do, they are pets, they are not wild animals.
They play, what they play with, they play with a ball. They like bones and they are human
friendly. So, this thinking is also not only a mental representation, but as we can see that they
help us to form a template. Several templates from our childhood we keep on building and we
keep on adding in our mind.

And as per our need, we use these templates to process information. In the discipline of
ergonomics, when we talk about these templates, these templates should be helping us to
enhance the performance. These templates should enhance and promote the safety. These
templates should help the user satisfaction. Now these templates are been, have seen over
period of time with more practice and for more repetition, these templates become robust and
strong.

Now as we think, do we use the same thinking in our communication? Language seems to be
an important part in our life. Language seems to be an important part in human communication.
Language is even seen as an important component in human cognition. When we talk about
language, language is not only a communication tool, but it helps the communication in verbal
form, nonverbal form or also in para-verbal form. In India alone, there are more than 3500
languages are there.

In different forms of languages across the globe, more than 6000 languages are there. People
use different languages to communicate. People use different languages to interact with each
other. And as the language changes, the complexity of human cognition increases. Language
has several components in it.

One such component is phoneme, the sound, the smallest unit of the language is the phoneme.
Morphine the smallest meaningful unit is the morpheme. And similarly, we call it as grapheme
also, the smallest graphical representation. But each language can have its own phoneme, can
have its own morpheme, can have its own grapheme. All these phoneme and morpheme
grapheme together collectively provide a unique characteristic to the language.

And this language help not only in the human cognition, but also help in effective
communication. When the communication gets better, then the performance gets better. And
when the performance gets better, then the human factor ergonomics becomes more and more
effective. Now the human error, the human failure has been seen to happen or occur when two
people are failing to communicate with each other. Let us take an example of a pilot who is
flying a plane and an air traffic controller who is sitting on the ground.
 If they fail to communicate with each other, if their sound do not match with each other, if
they do not understand each other, if lot of pronunciation problem is there, then the chances of
error will be very high. Not only that, if the failure in grammatical rule is there, semantics and
syntax, then also the chances of error will be very high. Similarly, the control room, police
control room and the police on the ground, if they fail to communicate with each other, then
the thief will get away. If at airport, the security fail to communicate with each other, then the
human error will occur. Such aspects, such examples are common example which present in
our day-to-day life.

But it is very important for us to understand that language is more complex than as it looks
like. Over years, we have understood that language plays a major role in the discipline of
human factor. And that is why new discipline in ergonomics has come forward, Ergolinguist,
which tries to address the characteristics, the usage of language in the discipline of ergonomics.
How human efficiency, performance can be enhanced using a language. We all go and buy
mobile phone along with the written manual.

We all go and buy in a market the gas cylinders. And all these things come up with the written
instruction. And many a time we have seen that these written instructions are more than one
language. It could be in English, it could be in Hindi, it could be in Russian, it could be in
Chinese. Who decides which language should be there? People decide, designer decide. After
they do a study. Who are their users? Who are going to use that product? Who are going to
interact with the system? Once you know that who are your users, you have to ensure that the
instruction should be provided in their own language. Otherwise, your user may fail to use that
design. And it may ultimately result into the failure of the tool. Many a time designer use
language to provide a warning signal. These warning signals which are listed on a fire
extinguisher, these instructions are written on an aeroplane door.

These instructions are written on a fuel tank. These instructions are written on hydraulics.
These instructions are written on an electrical control panel so that people may avoid. And
these instructions are sometime in are verbal or non-verbal in nature. Many a time even using
a public toilet.

These instructions when are not written properly, then the chances of human error is very
high. When a ticket vending machine is failing to provide a proper instruction in a specific
language, then the person fail to buy the ticket. Imagine you go to another country like Russia,
China, Britain and you do not speak English or Russian, Chinese. You just understand your
mother tongue, for instance Hindi. Other than Hindi all languages are foreign to you and you
are not experienced to that.
 Then you may fail to execute the task. What could be the task? A task could be very simple
like buying a coffee or buying a train ticket or looking for a washroom. Such examples are an
example of wayfinding, landmark identification or going to buy a ticket vending machine.
Localization of information, identification of such information we require language. And that
is why in recent years it has come to our understanding that language plays a crucial role in
ergonomics.

So, finding a telephone booth and then making a call, making a local call versus making an
international call. How do we understand that would one time how can we make an
international call or can we make an international call, when a language is foreign to us? Now
for most of us English is our second language and we are very much familiar with it. But if we
ask our parents, it may be a foreign language to them. It is very difficult for them to execute,
to process. In recent years, language has helped us in many ways, actively and passively.

As I was giving you an example about the instructions, language has helped us in providing
and writing the instruction. You can see the large lever controls the depth of the cut. Larger
the size of the lever is, more deeper cut it can do. Similarly, the smaller the lever control is, a
small cut it will make. Now such examples, with such examples we understand that language
is not very new to the discipline of ergonomics.

It was there 100 years ago also. But it is something which we did not pay more attention
towards it. Now what do we understand more is that language and ergonomics goes hand in
hand. It is very important for the designer to put more emphasis on language. Language can
be a tool with which designer can convince their users. Language can be a tool with which
supervisor can train their controllers or can train their trainees in an easy way.

And that is why in most of the cases, if you talk about nuclear power plant, if you talk about
NASA space station, language plays a crucial role. Or if you talk about international space
station also. We look for the people who can speak multiple, who are multilingual, who speaks
multiple languages. How do we decide which language is more important than the other? It
changes from time to time. Now if you talk about America, there are 60 states, among the 60
states, more number of states prefer to speak Spanish there.

Similarly, country like India, there are so many languages people speak across the country.
Language can be an easy tool and a simple tool. It can not only provide an information about
the depth at which one is cutting the metal or the alloy, but also it can be used for the wayfinding
in the navigation. How we can use the language in wayfinding and navigation? That is an
entirely different topic of research. But with these examples, at least we can understand that
language is an important part of human factor.
 More importantly, we have to also understand that some of the several occasions we have
used language to warn the people also. The warning has been given to the people to avoid the
errors. Sometimes along with language we are using colors which is more visual in nature.
And such kind of information we refer it as visual communication. The communication is
being performed not only with the help of language but based on the colors.

People understand their language easily than the other language. Hence when the warning
procedures or operating procedures are written, it is suggested that it should be written in their
own mother tongue. And this is how ergonomics and language go hand in hand together. But
what happened when people do not see? When people do not see, we have a language for them
that is braille. And you all might have experienced that the rough side of the coin which is
head, which is tail, this language for the blinds were already there.

And with many, many design companies, with many organization, at many organizational
setting, it has been a trend now that the braille and ergonomics goes hand in hand. As I was
telling you, ergo linguist is getting popular. This is another example of ergo linguist. Why is
it important? As you can see, when you have to dial a number but in the dark, generally when
we have been trying to dial number pad, keypad in the dark, based on our spatial information,
localization, coordination, at what distance the key numbers are present. However, blind
people who cannot see, who has not seen the world in their entire lifetime, they have to depend
on their tactile sensory system.

So, touching provides them an information. And what do they understand with this is that
how and what the object is being used. So, as you can see on the coin, mandala coin or on a
beer can or on the number keypad. Now such examples are already present there in our day-
to-day life for the blind people. But what about those people who cannot speak, who are deaf
and dumb, who have hearing loss. One loss is the vision loss, another loss is the hearing loss.

There are four different types of hearing loss. People have come up with a sign language,
non-verbal language. One was a verbal language, the Braille. Another language is a non-verbal
language. In the non-verbal language here, how this non-verbal language coming along with
the ergonomics. So, now if you see, the ergo-linguist is having two branches itself.

One verbal and one non-verbal in nature. So, in the case of the deaf people who rely on the
visual system, not on the auditory system, they have to use sign languages. Different countries
have different sign languages. There is an Indian sign language, there is an American sign
language. And based on their native country, people learn these sign languages. Such people
need product instructions that explain them clearly.
 And that is why many a time you see on a packet of Maggie behind, how to use and how to
prepare Maggie. A graphical representation is there. The pictures are presented there, four
stage process to prepare a Maggie. Or if you go and buy a milk supplement from a market,
how to prepare a milk supplement is being depicted at the back.

Schematic representation is there. Four stages, how to prepare. How to use an antiseptic
cream on the skin. How to use the disinfectant liquid to mop the floor. How much content is
required, 5 ml, 10 ml, 20 ml in 1 liter of bucket. So those are schematic representation which
people have used it.

So that people who have deficiency or who do not have deficiency of hearing, but can see and
follow the instruction. So, such illustration of information has been seen in recent years. It
has also been shown to us, recommended to us that the designers should pay attention towards
designing and involving such signs and symbols. So that it can provide an easiness to the users,
how well they can use it, how well they can execute the task. Let us now summarize this talk,
what we learned in last couple of minutes is that thinking is playing a crucial role in human
cognition.

It is not only allowing us to manipulate the information, analyze the information, but it is
helping us to take a meaningful action. The action can be meaningful sometimes, does not
have to be necessarily meaningful, but it help us to take a decision, to make a decision, an
effective decision which should enhance the performance, which should enhance the efficiency,
which should enhance the safety, which should enhance the user satisfaction. Thinking is
human cognition, but it is a complex processing. Many occasions what we have seen that is
thinking alters our thought, alters our language, affects our language, thinking helps in our
language or language helps in thinking. That itself a different line of thought, line of discussion,
but one thing is very clear that as we think, as we understand, it help us to process the
information and also helping us to make an effective decision.

How thinking can, thinking help us in the organization of information and in the organization
of information there are three different types, how we organize information. One is the schema,
we build a knowledge structure in a specific form like how cat is different from a cub, how
leopard is different from tiger, how alligator is different from crocodile, how different dog
species dalmatian and doberman are different from each other, how goat milk and cow milk
are different. We talked about the mental model, the model of a plane. If a designer is having
a mental model of a plane and a user is having a mental model of a car, these are two different
models. They will always be a clash, they will always be a failure, they will not be a meaningful
representation.

So, there should be a match between the two model. If a user is thinking of a aircraft, then
the designer has to also think of an aircraft. But within an aircraft, when we go to specification
details, then those specification details, designer should also have it. If there will be a failure
in matching, then the mental model will fail. And further down the line, we also talked about
the cognitive map with respect to spatial information, how we are receiving information
spatially. So those spatial information were different, spatial information about your room,
spatial information about your house, spatial information about your city, about specific context
like railway station, airport, bus station.

And once we have this, all these different types of organization, then we have a mental
representation in the form of a mental image or concept. That is why when I tell you do not
think of a polar bear, you think of a polar bear. You have a mental representation, you may not
have experienced it, but you have a concept about it. Once the work gets more and more
complicated, language comes to aid us. We know that language not only aid us, but plays a
crucial role in communication.

And that is why we talked about that Ergolinguist is the new discipline which is coming
forward. Language is not only providing us an aid, providing us instruction, but it is providing
a tool to the supervisors, to the controllers to come up with an operating procedure in such a
simple way so that their trainees can learn and execute the task without an error. Whenever
there is a failure in instruction, whenever there is a failure in communication, then the chances
of error increases. The efficiency and performance is getting compromised. Such aspects, such
elements are we have seen in several occasions and with several examples the language is
playing a major role.

With this, I would like to say thank you and see you in our next lecture. Thank you.