3rd Edition

Human Factors in Simple and Complex Systems

By Robert W. Proctor, Trisha Van Zandt Copyright 2018

    Recently, there have been a number of advances in technology, including in mobile devices, globalization of companies, display technologies and healthcare, all of which require significant input and evaluation from human factors specialists. Accordingly, this textbook has been completely updated, with some chapters folded into other chapters and new chapters added where needed. The text continues to fill the need for a textbook that bridges the gap between the conceptual and empirical foundations of the field.

    Preface to Third Edition

    Preface to Second Edition

    Authors

    Part I FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN FACTORS

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2 Research Methods in Human Factors

    Chapter 3 Reliability and Human Error in Systems

    Chapter 4 Human Information Processing

    Part II Perceptual Factors and Their Applications

    Chapter 5 Visual Perception

    Chapter 6 Perception of Objects in the World

    Chapter 7 Hearing, Proprioception, and the Chemical Senses

    Chapter 8 The Display of Visual, Auditory, and Tactual Information

    Part III Cognitive Factors and Their Applications

    Chapter 9 Attention and the Assessment of Mental Workload

    Chapter 10 Retention and Comprehension of Information

    Chapter 11 Solving Problems and Making Decisions

    Chapter 12 Experts and Expert Systems

    Part IV Action Factors and Their Applications

    Chapter 13 Response Selection and Principles of Compatibility

    Chapter 14 Control of Movement and Learning of Motor Skill

    Chapter 15 Controls and Controlling Actions

    Part V Environmental Factors and Their Applications

    Chapter 16 Anthropometrics and Workspace Design

    Chapter 17 Environmental Ergonomics

    Chapter 18 Human Resource Management and Macroergonomics

    Chapter 19 The Practice of Human Factors

    Appendix I

    Appendix II

    Appendix III

    Glossary

    References

    List of Credits

    Index

    Biography

    Robert W. Proctor is a distinguished professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and recipient of the Franklin V. Taylor Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Applied Experimental/Engineering Psychology from Division 21 of the American Psychological Association in 2013. He is co-author of Stimulus-Response Compatibility: Data, Theory and Application, Skill Acquisition & Training, and co-editor of Handbook of Human Factors in Web Design.

    Trisha Van Zandt is a professor of Psychology at The Ohio State University. She is a member of the Society for Mathematical Psychology, of which she was President in 2006-2007, and the American Statistical Association. She has received multiple research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 1997. She is co-author of review chapters "Designs for and Analyses of Response Time Experiments" in the Oxford Handbook of Quantitative Methods and "Mathematical Psychology" in the APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology.

    "The book materials have been updated to take the technological changes over the last decade into account for more clearly and comprehensively explaining the foundation of human factors and ergonomics in simple and complex systems. As such, this book provides students with more temporal examples of the applications and issues of human factors in the design, implementation, and evaluation of products and systems. The authors’ aim of providing a foundation in the principles of human performance and a broad overview of the field of human factors for advanced undergraduate and graduate students is successfully reached."
    Alan Chang, City University of Hong Kong

    "Proctor and Van Zandt are polymaths who’ve written a rigorous and practical introduction to human factors. Early chapters survey the field’s history and systems of thought. Later chapters cover the principles of cognitive, physical, and organizational ergonomics, and the real-world practice of human factors engineering. The book's multidisciplinary attitude means that students from any academic background will find something novel and stimulating in the material, and that all will take away a thorough knowledge of human factors and ergonomics."
    Jason McCarley, Oregon State University, USA

    This book is very comprehensive, and it is a great resource for human factors practitioners. I applaud Proctor and VanZandt for revising this new edition as it addresses how new technologies have affected the way we work and the ways in which technology both affects us and the type of work being conducted."

    Heather C. Lum, ergonomics in design | October 2020