Subjective Workload Assessment in a Spatial Memory Task,

Twelve subjects performed a spatial short-term memory task under several levels of difficulty and rated the workload associated with each using the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT). SWAT ratings proved sensitive to two of the three difficulty manipulations in the memory task, and demonstrated greater sensitivity in this respect than either of two primary task measures that were employed. The results extend the applicability of SWAT to the type of spatial memory task used and, therefore, provide further support for the general applicability of SWAT as a workload measurement technique.