FPN AskPsy

You are here

Simulation Lab Office

Most of the research conducted in the Simulation Lab Office is difficult to carry out in the field. Here, studies are conducted that examine the work behaviour of individuals as well as group behaviour. For instance: what happens when people are disturbed during their work? For this type of test, similarities between various work disruptions should be investigated, as should the actual disruption times. It is therefore useful to be able to carry out such tests in an experimental environment rather than in the field. As it were, research conducted in the Simulation Lab Office thus forms a bridge between the field and the laboratory.

Equipment
There are several computers available in the lab. These computers can record not only the keystrokes of the test participants on the keyboards, but also what is happening on the screen. Further, video cameras record the participants’ behaviour and any sounds they make. These recordings can then be analysed at a later point in time.
The computers and cameras are linked to software in order to observe, score and categorise behaviour. For instance, it is possible to test whether certain types of behaviour are more common than others, or whether one type of behaviour tends to be followed by another. If certain behaviours are found to occur together often, the significance of this finding can then be studied.
Finally, physiological methods may also be applied in the lab.

Research
Several types of research are conducted in the Simulation Lab Office. They mostly concern finding behavioural patterns which are not expected or visible at first glance. One of the tests focuses on social interactions in work situations. For example, getting social support from your colleagues is usually considered a positive thing, but this may not always be the case. In order to test this, general situations as well as certain aspects of situations in which colleagues offer each other social support are simulated. Some examples are: who offers support to whom (colleague or manager) and how is that support offered? It appears that social support is not always meant to be positive; it can just as easily have a negative overtone. These situations are simulated in the lab in order to find out how such social interactions between people actually work.
Recently, the lab has also seen research on pilots working in duos. The pilots had not been previously acquainted, but the research showed that even at a very early stage in the interaction between people, it can be established which duos are more or less successful. As a result of this study, behavioural patterns can be established to determine whether or not a team of people will be successful.
 
Last modified: Fri, 07/07/2017 - 16:43

You are here