Cultural influences on the measurement of subjective mental workload

Abstract

Cognitive ergonomics is well entrenched in North American and most European work environments, where systems and products are designed with the capabilities and limitations of the user in mind. A prominent technique for analysing task demands is subjective mental workload measurement. Subjective ratings of mental workload have been shown—in North American and European populations—to be reliable and sensitive to changes in mental workload. However, there is reason to think that cultural differences may affect subjective ratings. This study compared the performance and subjective mental workload ratings of Indonesian (n = 87) and Dutch (n = 88) students in the context of a hybrid memory/visual search task. Performance was comparable for the two groups, but the sensitivity of the subjective workload measures was better in the Dutch than in the Indonesian group. The results are interpreted in light of social axioms and cultural values.

Statement of Relevance: Now more than ever ergonomists must think beyond national borders in improving work processes. Globalisation requires that cultural differences be taken into account in developing and applying ergonomic techniques. This paper presents empirical work showing that cultural differences seriously impact the sensitivity of mental workload measures.

Keywords:

• cross-cultural
• mental workload
• subjective measures
• values

Notes

1. Only unweighted NASA-TLX ratings were used because of evidence that weighted scores are similar to unweighted scores (Byers et al. 1989) and may actually be more sensitive than weighted scores (Hendy et al. 1993).

2. It was originally intended to conduct regression analyses using the PVQ and Social Axioms Survey responses as predictors of mental workload ratings. However, range restriction in the Indonesian workload scores and differences in variance between the two groups would render these analyses difficult to interpret.