A note on measuring human functions in systems

Abstract.— Performances in different man-machine system functions are usually not directly comparable_: It is suggested that some functions may be measured through quantities corresponding to β and d' of the signal Detection Theory. Necessary assumptions are that the task can be reduced to a binary decision and that the decision depends upon a subjective value of certainty which vanes in one dimension. The method of measurement is illustrated by an example with a hypothetical system comprising three functions: detecting, identifying and interpreting.     

Preference and similarity: affective and cognitive judgement?

This study is a test of some implications of the distinction between cognitive and affective processes proposed by Zajonc (1980), applied to preference and similarity judgements. Preference and similarity data were obtained for male and female subjects judging male and female cinema actors. Preference judgements were assumed to be an example of primarily affective judgement, similarity was assumed to be mainly cognitive. It was furthermore assumed that men when judging women and women judging men should be more affectively involved than the opposite cases. It was predicted (a) that making preference judgements would be more confident, (b) that such judgements would be more stable, (c) that preference judgements would show a more simple structure than similarity judgements, and (d) that the difference between similarities and preferences with regard to the level of complexity indicated by the ratings should be especially large with large affective involvement. In support of Zajonc's model, preference judgements were given with more confidence by the subjects and they were more stable over time. There was a tendency for similarity spaces to be more complex for affectively involved subjects while the opposite occurred for preference ratings. Women seemed to react more negatively to the similarity task than men did.     

Quality of life and evaluation of functions among people with severely impaired mobility and non-disabled controls

Thirty-six disabled people with severely impaired mobility and 36 non-handicapped matched control subjects were studied with respect to their self-reported quality of life (OOL) and the ranking of 30 functions. No difference concerning QOL was found between the two groups. Correlations between QOL and six different groups of functions were very low in both groups, indicating a mechanism of adapting to a loss of functions. Comparison between the evaluations of the different functions in two groups showed that social abilities were more important to the group with severely impaired mobility, while "motor functions" were more important to the non-handicapped control subjects.