Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations

 This chapter will talk about the five human senses, how information is
processed in the brain and phobias.

 The 5 senses are:

1. Touch.
2. Taste.
3. Smell.
4. Sight.
5. Hearing.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations
 To incorporate the sense of balance in the human senses is
incorrect, why? .. Balance in a human being is generated
in the brain using 3 signals from;
1. Eyes
2. Inner ear.
3. Forces acting on the body.

 If these signals are not in correct proportions, the human

being looses balance.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Vision
 The eye consist of three main parts known
as;

1. Iris. (Color part of the eye)

2. Lens. (Accommodation of the light)
3. Retina. (Has the stimulating light sensitive
cells)

 The tasks of the eye include;

1. Adaptation; Controls light.
2. Accommodation; Focusing.
3. Fixation; Finding direction.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations- Vision Impairments
 Limitations regarding vision, has no
JAA/EASA regulations that governs visual • Medical/physical factors:
ability for technical personnel.
* Short-sightedness- Myopia – corrected by concave lens
 3 things that can affect vision: (diverging lens).

• Substances: medicine, alcohol, smoking, * Long-sightedness – Hypermetropia – corrected by

can decrease the supply of blood & oxygen convex lens (converging lens). This begins after the age
to the eyes. of 40 (Presbyopia).

• Environment: * Cataracts (Cloudy vision), Astigmatism (Blur vision) &

Glaucoma (increase in of pressure within eye ball, result
in blindness).
* Amount of light, clarity of the air (mist, fog,
dust).
* Color blindness can not be cured. But red-green color
* Old people are affected more than young
blindness can be by providing good lighting.
people by dazzling (extreme bright light).
* Human beings adapt fast to brightness, and
slow to darkness (up to 60 minutes).

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Hearing
 The main two functions of the ear are;

1. Provide hearing.
2. Provide balance.

 The ear is made of 3 main parts;

1. Outer ear.
2. Middle ear.
3. Inner ear.

 Sound which is a mechanical vibration is

taken into the ear through auditory canal,
where the vibrations are transferred to a
membrane known as cochlea, that is filled
with liquid. Liquid vibrates at certain
frequency hence vibrating the tiny hairs that
stimulate the nerve impulses.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Hearing
 Hearing range of a human being is between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).

 The ear is most sensitive at 3000 Hz.

 Auditory threshold is 0 dB (the minimum threshold a human can hear).

 Pain threshold is 140 dB.

 Above 150 dB damage to hearing occurs.

 Ear protection by law must be worn at sound levels above 90 dB.

 Not just the sound level but also the time of exposure, the limit is reduced to 85 dB if exposure is more
than 4 hours.

 Middle ear acts as a temporarily natural protection when exposed to sounds above 80 dB, as it can
hold back maximum of 20 dB.

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Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Information processing
 Information processing model
consist of the following;

 Signal input & store.

 Attention.
 Awareness.
 Decision.
 Short-term and long-term
memory.
 Motor neuron program.
 Feedback with actions.

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Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Signal Input & store

 All senses send their signal to this module and stores it

temporally for 2 seconds (sounds). Images are stored for 0.5
seconds.

 Storing sound, as tones in a way so you can hear words as

sentences, and images as films.

 Once the brain stores the signal, it concentrates on particular

elements, known as ATTENTION.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations-Attention
 Attention is divided into 4 categories;

 Divided attention; This occurs when performing different tasks, for example: teaching and
performing practical tasks at the workshop.

 Focusing attention; Concentrating on one task, for example; you are only waiting from me to
tell you that you can go for your break rather than concentrating with the subject .

 Persistent attention; Deals with tasks that take long time like inspections, studying a long
module.

 Selective attention; From the word “select”, clearly reacting to a KEY INFORMATION. This is a
perfect form of distraction.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations - Awareness – Decision generator

 Awareness

 Awareness is the part where signals are assembled, organized,

interpreted and combined into parcels of information.

 Experience prevents the correct data from being rejected in the brain,
and false data from being transferred into the brain.

 Awareness is the one that provides us with faces, melodies and illusions.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations - Awareness – Decision generator

 Decision generator

 The brain combines information from senses, with experience and knowledge.

 Means you might have many solutions for one problem, but you decide to choose one only.

 Crosschecking is done through a feedback loop. Touch a heated spoon, will you touch it again?

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations - Memory
 There are 3 types of memory;

1. Ultra short-term memory.

2. Short-term memory.
3. Long-term memory.

 You can notice that the decision generator uses short-term and long-term memories.

 Short-term memories;
 Acts as an interim store of information similar to RAM.
 To increase the efficiency of the short-term memory, grouping is necessary.
 To increase the capacity (storage) of the short-term memory, is done by repetition of the
information.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations - Memory
 Long-term memories;
 Almost Infinite storage capacity.
 It stores knowledge and experiences.
 Separated into two categories;

1. Semantic memory: This stores facts like language, and equations. The data doesn’t
depend on time or place.
2. Episodic memory: This stores events and experiences, therefore depends on the time
and place. It is affected by personal expectations; in an accident for example, each
individual would have different way of explaining what happened.

 Motor neuron program; Actions are stored here, combined with experience and repetitive
tasks. Having this memory, it will be easy for you to repeat the same task without thinking.

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Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations – Situation awareness

 Situation awareness;

 It takes place in the attention,

awareness module, and decision
generator.
 It is divided into 3 stages;

1. Perception.
2. Understanding.
3. Prediction.

 Does situational awareness involve

only one student? Or all of you
(group)?
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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations – Limitations of
processing information
 Having experience and knowledge is good, but can
be troublesome.

 We can replace data being processed by experience

and knowledge, by choosing wrong awareness. This
is why the engineer who worked on changing the
window shield of British airways 5390 , said in the
investigation “this didn’t occur to me”. He replaced
data by his experience and knowledge.

 To prevent such incidents;

1. Use up-to-date manuals.
2. Do not look for information that supports your
thinking.
3. Question your information and data
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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations – Phobias
 Phobia, is a feeling that relates to terror of a certain situation or things.

 For example:
1. Arachnophobia is fear of animals.
2. Agoraphobia is fear of crowds of people.
3. Claustrophobia is fear of enclosed spaces.
4. Acrophobia is fear of heights/altitudes.

 Claustrophobia is difficult to predict, a person can undergo loss of self-control (panic attack).
 To overcome it, the victim should be able to know the warning signs, then free himself before
the attack.
 Claustrophobia can affect the victim and the ones helping him/her.

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 Unit 2: Human Performance & Limitations – Phobias
 The panic reaction to heights is very dangerous.

 Safety lines and good platforms provide the worker feeling of security, and
lessen the risk of falling.

 At low heights, there are two protection mechanisms;

1. Natural where your body tenses up.

2. Artificial which is the safety lines.

 Team attitude also lessen dangers.

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