Gerald Matthews

University of Central Florida | UCF · Institute for Simulation and Training

Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will produce “reasonable disagreements” between human operators and machine partners. A simulation study investigated factors that may influence compromise between human and robot partners when they disagree in situation evaluation. Eighty-seven participants viewed urban scenes and interacted with a robo...

The literature on individual differences constitutes a key area of research in organizational sciences, such as organizational psychology, organizational behavior, and behavioral strategy. In line with this, there is a vast and further growing body of knowledge within this literature. This volume aims to provide an accessible overview of the academ...

Objective: The present study aimed to provide a seminal behavioral genetic analysis of time perspectives (TPs). Moreover, we intended to investigate the magnitude of genetic vs. environmental components of the well-established assocations between TPs and personality features. Background: Individual differences in temporal framing processes, refe...

Introduction The accurate perception of facial expressions plays a vital role in daily life, allowing us to select appropriate responses in social situations. Understanding the neuronal basis of altered emotional face processing in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may lead to the appropriate choice of individual interventions to help p...

Safety researchers increasingly recognize the impacts of task-induced fatigue on vehicle driving behavior. The current study (N = 180) explored the use of a multidimensional fatigue measure, the Driver Fatigue Questionnaire (DFQ), to test the impacts of vehicle automation, secondary media use, and driver personality on fatigue states and performanc...

The management and assessment of operator workload is a critical element of nuclear power plant (NPP) safety. Operators in the NPP main control room (MCR) often face workload that varies both quantitatively and qualitatively as immediate task demands change. Although workload is an intuitive construct, it is not easy to define and measure in practi...

Perfectionism impacts how athletes evaluate their performance. However, little is known about how perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns interplay with athletes' anticipated and actual performance in predicting mood after the competition. Thus, we conducted a study with amateur runners [n = 152, (72 female, 80 male); Mean±SD age = 3...

This study aimed to use Event- Related Potential (ERP) data to investigate how multiple attentional networks might contribute to vigilance decrement, based on Petersen and Posner's (2012) model of networks for executive control, alertness, and spatial orienting. The networks may differ in their sensitivity to effects of time on task. Based on the t...

Chapman’s Love Languages hypothesis claims that (1) people vary in the ways they prefer to receive and express affection and (2) romantic partners who communicate their feelings congruent with their partner’s preferences experience greater relationship quality. The author proposes five distinct preferences and tendencies for expressing love, includ...

We provide an initial empirical test of three conceptual models reflecting possible patterns of causality effects in the relationships between time perspective (TP), gratitude, savoring the moment, and prioritizing positivity (referred to as well-being boosters, WBBs), and mental well-being. The first one, trait-behavior model, states trait TPs inc...

Gratitude, savoring and prioritizing positivity are well-established well-being boosters (WBBs). Burzynska and Stolarski (2020) noted that each of them has a distinct temporal reference: gratitude builds upon the past, savoring refers to the present, whereas prioritizing positivity refers to the future. Their conceptual match-mismatch model posits...

Effective human–robot teaming (HRT) increasingly requires humans to work with intelligent, autonomous machines. However, novel features of intelligent autonomous systems such as social agency and incomprehensibility may influence the human’s trust in the machine. The human operator’s mental model for machine functioning is critical for trust. Peopl...

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operator training and selection procedures are still being refined to effectively address challenges related to performance, workload, and stress in UAS operation. Research suggests that experience with commercial videogames may test skills relevant to modern UAS operation. This study investigated the ability of vide...

The effects of cognitive load on driver behavior and traffic safety are unclear and in need of further investigation. Reliable measures of cognitive load for use in research and, subsequently, in the development and implementation of driver monitoring systems are therefore sought. Physiological measures are of interest since they can provide contin...

Humans are integral to the safe operation of a nuclear power plant (NPP). Following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) began focusing on incorporating good human factors engineering design principles in regulation and emphasizing the importance of adequate training of plant operations staff...

Intelligence, as measured by psychometric tests of cognitive ability, correlates modestly with superior adaptation and effective self-regulation, especially in academic and occupational contexts. Various causal hypotheses for associations between intelligence and health have been proposed. Longitudinal data show that low intelligence predicts numer...

Previous research has provided strong evidence for a pronounced role of time perspective (TP) in various areas of human functioning, including cognitive processes, mental and physical health, environmental behaviors, and relationship quality. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of individual differences in TP in work-related at...

Insider threats are individuals who pose significant security risks but are difficult to identify with traditional methods that rely on passively collected data. Recently, active indicators have been developed as a more active monitoring method designed to evoke differential behaviors in insider threats and benign employees. While these methods hav...

Cyber challenges faced by organizations today involve malicious inside actors, often labeled insider threats (ITs). These present a difficult challenge in that the most well-designed cybersecurity apparatus is vulnerable to those inside the organization who have privileged access to information systems. Innovative methods must be developed to help...

This paper presents the analyses of data collected from four previous studies to compare the sensitivity of multiple physiological and subjective workload measures in detecting the workload changes induced by common nuclear power plant (NPP) main control room tasks in three types using three simulators. Analyses of effect sizes were used to quantif...

Objective: To explore vigilance task performance, cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), workload, and stress in a within-subjects, two session experiment. Background: Vigilance, or sustained attention, tasks are often characterized by a decline in operator performance and CBFV with time on task, and high workload and stress. Though performance is k...

Associations between certain personality traits and individual differences in diurnal preferences, referred to as morningness-eveningness, are well established from cross-sectional studies. However, it is unclear whether personality affects diurnal preference, diurnal preference affects personality, or some third factor influences both. The current...

Intelligent autonomous systems surpass human-information processing capabilities, potentially mitigating cognitive workload imposed by tasking and micromanagement of systems, and afford the use of advanced algorithms, machine learning, and big data to enhance decision-making. This functionality can support teamworking activities, but also introduce...

Depressed patients are characterized by hypoactivity of the left and hyperactivity of the right frontal areas during the resting state. Depression is also associated with impaired decision-making, which reflects multiple cognitive, affective, and attentional processes, some of which may be lateralized. The aim of this study was to investigate brain...

Potential benefits of technology such as automation are oftentimes negated by improper use and application. Adaptive systems provide a means to calibrate the use of technological aids to the operator’s state, such as workload state, which can change throughout the course of a task. Such systems require a workload model which detects workload and sp...

The vigilance decrement in performance is a significant operational issue in various applied settings. Psychophysiological methods for diagnostic monitoring of vigilance have focused on power spectral density measures from the electroencephalogram (EEG). This article addresses the diagnosticity of an alternative set of EEG measures, coherence betwe...

Individuals performing cognitive tasks experience a range of subjective states including stress, excitement, and fatigue. This article reviews research based on a multidimensional assessment of state dimensions in the performance context, the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire (DSSQ). Various types of evidence for validity support differentiating ta...

Zimbardo and Boyd's (1999; 2008) time perspective dimensions (TPs) are an important element of personality linked to wellbeing and adaptive behaviors, but their developmental origins remain unclear. Different theoretical perspectives variously attribute TPs to basic temperamental factors, to cognitive processes, and to social learning in the family...

In forty years, human existence will be radically transformed by advances in information technology, including Artificial Intelligence, robots capable of social agency, and other autonomous physical and virtual systems. Future personality research must assess, understand, and apply individual differences in adaptation to these novel challenges. Thi...

Theories of personality traits refer to qualitatively different explanatory mechanisms, limiting prospects for a consensual paradigm. This article presents a trilevel cognitive science analysis that distinguishes multiple, qualitatively different explanations for expressions of personality. Stable individual differences in processes and content ass...

The introduction of increasingly intelligent and autonomous systems raises novel human factors challenges for human–machine teaming. People utilize differing mental models in understanding the functioning of complex systems that may be capable of social agency. Operators may perceive the machine as either a complex tool or a humanlike teammate. Whe...

Human–Machine teaming is a very near term standard for many occupational settings and still requires considerations for the design of autonomous teammates (ATs). Transparency of system processes is important for human–machine interaction and reliance but standards for its implementation are still being explored. Embedding social cues is a potential...

Analog, full-scope, full-scale simulators with the fidelity to simulate all of the physical and underlying thermodynamics in the real system are representative of training simulators used by current operating nuclear power plants. However, digital simulators are becoming desirable to researchers and utility companies alike due to their increased ac...

The prevalence of information technology (IT) and widespread use of electronic data storage systems by individuals, corporations, and government branches has prompted investigation into threats to cyber security and data privacy. Within the human factors community, researchers have sought to identify issues related to cyber-attacks and cyber defens...

The prevalence of information technology (IT) and widespread use of electronic data storage systems by individuals, corporations, and government branches has prompted investigation into threats to cyber security and data privacy. Within the human factors community, researchers have sought to identify issues related to cyber-attacks and cyber defens...

Future unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations will require control of multiple vehicles. Operators are vulnerable to cognitive overload, despite support from system automation. This study tested whether attentional resource theory predicts impacts of cognitive demands on performance measures, including automation-dependence and stress. It also in...

Objective This study tested whether indices of executive control, alertness, and orienting measured with Attention Network Test (ANT) are vulnerable to temporal decrement in performance. Background Developing the resource theory of sustained attention requires identifying neurocognitive processes vulnerable to decrement. Executive control processe...

Background The beneficial effects of moderate‐intensity physical exercise on mood are well established. Students in higher education are a group vulnerable to stress who may benefit from aerobic exercise classes. The present study broadens existing findings by testing the impact on mood of a 45‐minute‐long aerobic training session, conducted in a n...

Experts must often execute cognitive and motor skills in demanding, potentially stressful environments. Broadly, stress impairs attention and working memory, increasing vulnerability to cognitive overload. Theories of attentional resources and cognitive skill acquisition suggest a Standard Capacity Model (SCM) of expertise and stress vulnerability....

Operators of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) face a variety of stress factors resulting from both the cognitive demands of the work and its broader social context. Dysfunctional metacognitions including those concerning worry may increase stress vulnerability, whereas personality traits including hardiness and grit may confer resilience. The present...

We examine the continuing use of subjective workload responses to index an operator’s state, either by themselves or as part of a collective suite of measurements. Lack of convergence of subjective scales with physiological and performance-based measures calls into question whether there is any unitary workload construct that underpins conscious ex...

The characteristics of Openness and Intellect suggest they may be differentially correlated with affect. In Study 1 (n = 224) we examined associations between Openness/Intellect and well-being. Additionally, we included variables related to ability perception: subjectively assessed intelligence and satisfaction with intelligence. In Study 2 (n = 21...

Current cybersecurity research on insider threats has focused on finding clues to illicit behavior, or “passive indicators”, in existing data resources. However, a more proactive view of detection could preemptively uncover a potential threat, mitigating organizational damage. Active Indicator Probes (AIPs) of insider threats are stimuli placed int...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has developed a tool to support the understanding and evaluation of workload (WL), situation awareness (SA), and teamwork (TW) metrics used in human factors engineering (HFE) programs for commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). This article summarizes the NRC report on the tool, and discusses its potential ap...

Objective: The aim of this study was to distill and define those influences under which change in objective performance level and the linked cognitive workload reflections of subjective experience and physiological variation either associate, dissociate, or are insensitive, one to another. Background: Human factors/ergonomics frequently employs...

Morningness-eveningness and standard personality traits are associated with well-being but few studies have directly compared the two types of construct as correlates of life satisfaction. Influences on well-being common to both chronotype and personality may include shared biological bases for depression and sleep disturbance, tendencies toward so...

Several studies show that intelligence and conscientiousness are negatively related. One of the most popular explanations of this effect is the compensation hypothesis. It posits that less intelligent people may become more conscientious to compensate for their relative lack of intelligence, whereas more intelligent individuals tend to rely on thei...

Objective: This simulation study investigated factors influencing sustained performance and fatigue during operation of multiple Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The study tested effects of time-on-task and automation reliability on accuracy in surveillance tasks and dependence on automation. It also investigated the role of trait and state individu...

Insider Threat (IT) is a growing cybersecurity issue. Countermeasures based on cognitive engineering may utilize diagnostic eye fixation responses indicative of insider intent, elicited by Active Indicator Probes (AIPs). The current study embedded AIPs into an immersive simulation of espionage activities. Participants allocated to an insider role w...

Very often, technologies are developed with more of an understanding about the tasks to be accomplished than of the mental processes associated with performing the task. In multitasking environments, this can be detrimental to system and task design since the brain may not distinguish and process tasks in the same way as systems do. This can result...

Proponents of emotional intelligence (EI) often view effective coping with stress as central to the EI construct. In fact, current thinking among EI researchers suggests that the way people identify, understand, regulate, and repair emotions (in self and others) helps determine coping behaviors and consequent adaptive outcomes. The scientific merit...

Multiple factors may influence Warfighters’ ability to team effectively with personnel from other nations in joint military operations. The present study (N = 696) used a situation judgement test (SJT) to assess multinational decision-making competence. We hypothesized that both social identity and general decision-making competencies would be asso...

The purpose of the present research is to validate a measure of motivation collimated from an individual’s motivational, affective, and personality traits. The Motivational Assessment Tool (MAT) is being developed to assess multiple variables for an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) to deploy individualized adaptations through various levels of lea...

Assessment for understanding, predicting, and improving human performance and system design is a key for human-computer interaction (HCI) research. Assessments can be behavioral, physiological, performance-based, and phenomenological. Assessments are important in a variety of domains, including unmanned vehicle operations, human-robot teaming, nucl...

Human operators will increasingly team with autonomous systems in military and security settings, for example, evaluation and analysis of threats. Determining whether humans are threatening is a particular challenge to which future autonomous systems may contribute. Optimal trust calibration is critical for mission success, but most trust research...

The global reach of the US military requires commanders to manage multinational teams effectively but cultural factors make effective decision-making challenging. This article reports a series of three studies with a total sample of 696 participants. They examined how sociocultural factors, personality traits, and decision-making competencies corre...

This article reviews advancements in methods for detection of task-induced driver fatigue. Early detection of the onset of fatigue may be enhanced by spectral frequency analysis of the electrocardiogram (ECG) and analysis of eye fixation durations. Validity may also be improved by developing algorithms that accommodate driver sleep history assessed...

The impacts of fatigue on the vehicle driver may change with technological advancements including automation and the increasing prevalence of potentially distracting in-car systems. This article reviews the authors' simulation studies of how fatigue, automation, and distraction may intersect as threats to safety. Distinguishing between states of ac...

With technological developments in robotics and their increasing deployment, human-robot teams are set to be a mainstay in the future. To develop robots that possess teaming capabilities, such as being able to communicate implicitly, the present study implemented a closed-loop system. This system enabled the robot to provide adaptive aid without th...

Robert Stelmack's distinguished contributions to differential psychology demonstrated the importance of appropriate choice of electroencephalographic (EEG) metrics, and of establishing the functional significance of EEG. This article reports a study of individual differences in EEG that developed these themes. 150 participants performed two signal...

Contemporary military operations require the US to partner with coalition nations, so that commanders must make effective decisions for multinational teams. The effectiveness of decision-making may depend on various factors. General decision-making competence and personality traits that promote interpersonal functioning may be advantageous in the t...

Insider Threats (ITs) are hard to identify because of their knowledge of the organization and motivation to avoid detection. One approach to detecting ITs utilizes Active Indicators (AI), stimuli that elicit a characteristic response from the insider. The present research implemented this approach within a simulation of financial investigative work...

The study of performance, workload, and stress have become a mainstay in the field of Human Factors. These constructs are multi-faceted and are assessed by a variety of measures. In seeking to enhance performance by managing mental workload and stress, it is important for measures to be anchored to meaningful criteria. Workload and stress must be c...

Objective: The goal for this study was to evaluate several visual search training techniques in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) simulated task environment. Background: Operators controlling remote unmanned vehicles often must perform complex visual search tasks (e.g., target search). These tasks may pose substantial demands on the operator due...

This article aims at shedding light on the emotional intelligence (EI) of gifted and high ability students. We begin by presenting a brief overview of EI theory and research and its relevance to gifted education. We then present theoretical considerations bearing on the nature of the relationship between cognitive and EI. This is followed by a surv...

Personality traits are consistently correlated with various indices of acute psychological stress response, including negative emotions and performance impairment. However, resilience is a complex personal characteristic with multiple neural and psychological roots. This article advocates a multifactorial approach to understanding resilience that r...

Traditional, biologically based trait theories have deservedly gained broad acceptances, but some longstanding core issues of personality research remain unresolved. Recent research questions whether (1) there can be a single universal structural model of personality superfactors, (2) current theory adequately specifies the processes that mediate b...

Introduction: Voice communication may enhance performance during monotonous, potentially fatiguing driving conditions (Atchley & Chan, 2011); however, it is unclear whether safety benefits of conversation are outweighed by costs. The present study tested whether personalized conversations intended to simulate hands-free cell phone conversation may...