The Potential Role of Context-Related Exposure in Explaining Differences in Water Safety Cue Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether differences in water safety-related cue utilization might be associated with differences in exposure to water-related recreational contexts. BACKGROUND: A disproportionate number of incidents of drowning were attributable to recent visitors to New South Wales in the 2016-2017 summer swimming season. This was due to their assumed lack of exposure to the water-related recreational settings in which Australians engage and therefore, the absence of cues that are associated with danger. METHOD: In Study 1, the water safety cue utilization of 101 Australian residents and 328 recent visitors to the country was compared using the Expert Intensive Skills Evaluation (EXPERTise 2.0) program. Accounting for differences between the samples, Australian residents demonstrated significantly superior water safety cue utilization. In Study 2, the water safety cue utilization of a sample of 219 Australian residents was examined, the outcomes of which indicated that those participants who learned to swim before the age of 11 years demonstrated superior water safety cue utilization to participants who learned to swim at a later age. RESULTS: Overall, the results suggest that there are individual differences in water safety cue utilization that are explained, in part, by differences in country of residence and the age at which participants first learned to swim. CONCLUSION: Water safety cue utilization is likely to be dependent upon exposure to water-related activities. Identifying individual differences enables the development of more targeted, drowning-prevention strategies.

Operators who readily acquire patterns and cues, risk being miscued in routinized settings.

The detection of critical cues is a hallmark of expert performance, and in high-risk settings, it can prevent serious incidents. A sensitivity to cues and a proclivity to rapidly acquire patterns during routinized tasks, however, can miscue performance when these patterns change. In the present study, 75 university students undertook an assessment of cue utilization and engaged in a 24-min rail control simulation. The rail control task involved monitoring with periodic interventions to reroute trains, according to a train-track matching rule. A hidden pattern in the sequencing of trains presented an opportunity to predict train movements and reduce the workload. This pattern was programmed to abruptly change 3 times during the rail task. Based on the response latency performance of participants and their detection of the rail task pattern (verbal descriptions), the results suggested that individuals who are sensitive to cues and who also detect patterns of dynamic stimuli (following limited exposure) experience a relatively greater risk of misapplying rules or misdiagnosing situations in routinized environments when stimuli change. Following a temporary decline in performance, however, if there are continued pattern changes, the performance of these individuals will remain unaffected. The implications are discussed for training and system design. (PsycINFO Database Record

"Experience Isn't Everything": How Emotion Affects the Relationship Between Experience and Cue Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: This research examined whether negative and positive arousal emotions modify the relationship between experience level and cue utilization among anesthetists. BACKGROUND: The capacity of a practitioner to form precise associations between clusters of features (e.g., symptoms) and events (e.g., diagnosis) and then act on them is known as cue utilization. A common assumption is that practice experience allows opportunities for cue acquisition and cue utilization. However, this relationship is often not borne out in research findings. This study investigates the role of emotional state in this relationship. METHOD: An online tool (EXPERTise 2.0) was used to assess practitioner cue utilization for tasks relevant to anesthesia. The experience of positive and negative arousal emotions in the previous three days was measured, and emotion clusters were generated. Experience was measured as the composite of practice years and hours of practice experience. The moderating role of emotion on the relationship between experience and cue utilization was examined. RESULTS: Data on 125 anesthetists (36% female) were included in the analysis. The predicted interaction between arousal emotions and the experience level emerged. In particular, post hoc analyses revealed that anxiety-related emotions facilitated the likelihood of high cue utilization in less experienced practitioners. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest a role for emotions in cue use and suggest a functional role for normal range anxiety emotions in a simulated work-relevant task. APPLICATION: This research illustrates the importance of understanding the potentially functional effects common negative arousal emotions may have on clinical performance, particularly for those with less experience.

Positive Affect Is Associated With Reduced Fixation in a Realistic Medical Simulation.

OBJECTIVE: This study extends previous research by exploring the association between mood states (i.e., positive and negative affect) and fixation in practicing anesthetists using a realistic medical simulation. BACKGROUND: The impact of practitioner emotional states on fixation is a neglected area of research. Emerging evidence is demonstrating the role of positive affect in facilitating problem solving and innovation, with demonstrated implications for practitioner fixation. METHOD: Twelve practicing anesthetists (4 females; Mage= 39 years; SD = 6.71) were involved in a medical simulation. Prior to the simulation, practitioners rated the frequency they had experienced various positive and negative emotions in the previous three days. During the simulation, the patient deteriorated rapidly, and anesthetists were observed for their degree of fixation. After the simulation, practitioners indicated the frequency of these same emotions during the simulation. RESULTS: Nonparametric correlations were used to explore the independent relationships between positive and negative affect and the behavioral measures. Only positive affect impacted the likelihood of fixation. Anesthetists who reported more frequent recent positive affect in the three days prior to the simulation and during the simulation tended to be less fixated as judged by independent raters, identified a decline in patient oxygen saturation more quickly, and more rapidly implemented the necessary intervention (surgical cricothyroidotomy). CONCLUSION: These findings have some real-world implications for positive affect in patient safety. APPLICATION: This research has broad implications for professions where fixation may impair practice. This research suggests that professional training should teach practitioners to identify their emotions and understand the role of these emotions in fixation.

The role of cue utilisation in reducing the workload in a train control task.

Skilled performance has been characterised, in part, by the capacity to accurately identify and respond to patterns as cues in the environment. The outcome is a reduction in cognitive load and a greater residual capacity to undertake concurrent tasks. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between cue utilisation and temporal pattern recognition in the context of a simulated, rail control task. Sixty-one university students undertook an assessment of cue utilisation and engaged in a rail control simulation. The appearance and movement of trains followed a consistent but implicit (undisclosed) pattern. Throughout the second half of the rail task, a secondary task was included. The results indicated that participants with relatively higher cue utilisation were more likely to identify the implicit pattern of rail movements, were more accurate and responded more rapidly under increased workload conditions. The results suggest that a propensity to identify patterns as cues may provide an opportunity to reduce cognitive demands, thereby facilitating performance in a novel task. Implications for selection and system design are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This study was designed to explain differences in the way in which people learn, particularly when tasks involve recurring patterns. Using simulated rail control, the results indicated that participants who display behaviour that is indicative of the utilisation of cues also recognise patterns in the movement of simulated trains. This enables them to manage trains more effectively, even while undertaking other tasks.

Cue Utilization and Cognitive Load in Novel Task Performance.

This study was designed to examine whether differences in cue utilization were associated with differences in performance during a novel, simulated rail control task, and whether these differences reflected a reduction in cognitive load. Two experiments were conducted, the first of which involved the completion of a 20-min rail control simulation that required participants to re-route trains that periodically required a diversion. Participants with a greater level of cue utilization recorded a consistently greater response latency, consistent with a strategy that maintained accuracy, but reduced the demands on cognitive resources. In the second experiment, participants completed the rail task, during which a concurrent, secondary task was introduced. The results revealed an interaction, whereby participants with lesser levels of cue utilization recorded an increase in response latency that exceeded the response latency recorded for participants with greater levels of cue utilization. The relative consistency of response latencies for participants with greater levels of cue utilization, across all blocks, despite the imposition of a secondary task, suggested that those participants with greater levels of cue utilization had adopted a strategy that was effectively minimizing the impact of additional sources of cognitive load on their performance.

Trait-based cue Utilization and initial skill acquisition: implications for models of the progression to expertise.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the role of cue utilization in the initial acquisition of psycho-motor skills. Two experiments were undertaken, the first of which examined the relationship between cue utilization typologies and levels of accuracy following four simulated, power-off landing trials in a light aircraft simulator. The results indicated that higher levels of cue utilization were associated with a greater level of landing accuracy following training exposure. In the second study, participants' levels of cue utilization were assessed prior to two 15 min periods during which they practiced take-offs and landings using a simulated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Consistent with Study 1, the outcomes of Study 2 revealed a statistically significant relationship among levels of cue utilization and the number of trials to criterion on the take-off task, and the proportion of successful trials during both take-off and landing. In combination, the results suggest that the capacity for the acquisition and the subsequent utilization of cues is an important predictor of skill acquisition, particularly during the initial stages of the process. The implications for theory and applied practice are discussed.