Correlations between Human Performance in Information Seeking, Information Integration, and Overall Process in Diagnostic Tasks

ABSTRACT

Insufficient effort has been made to investigate details of the diagnostic process, specifically information seeking and information integration. In this study, participants were asked to accomplish eight diagnostic tasks of locating the leaking position of some working material in a simulated nuclear power plant. The participants’ information seeking actions and possibility judgments about all potential leaking positions were recorded and then described using eight dependent variables concerning their gains and expenses. Generalized linear mixed-models were used to evaluate the effects of time pressure and the correlations. The results showed that (1) information seeking and information integration were closely correlated in multifaceted ways; (2) higher diagnostic accuracy was associated with fewer information acquiring actions but with longer average intervals between these actions; and (3) high time-pressure induced speed-and-accuracy trade-offs in the sub-processes, and the overall diagnostic speed and accuracy were negatively related between individuals, but positively related between trials

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 71371104].

Notes on contributors

Xi Lyu

Xi Lyu received the B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Tsinghua University in 2012 and is now pursuing the PhD degree in Management Science and Engineering at the Department of Industrial Engineering Tsinghua University. His research interests include human error, diagnosis, and human information processing.

Zhizhong Li

Zhizhong Li is a full professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Tsinghua University. He received his PhD degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Automation from Tsinghua University in 1999. His current research areas include interface design, human error, system safety, and other ergonomics issues associated with complex industrial systems.