Cognitive Task Analysis

 

Cognitive Task Analyses is a type of task analyses specifically considering the mental aspect to the task that a participant is performing (Chipman, Schraagen, and Shalin, 2000). This differentiates it from traditional task analyses, although it is important to note that there is not as much of distinction between Task Analysis and Cognitive Task Analysis in Europe versus America due to the fact that Behaviorism had more of an impact in the United States. So, task analysis coming out of Europe will have a tendency to have cognitive task components in it (Annett, Duncan, Stammers, and Gray, 1971).

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The most important steps to performing a cognitive task analysis is to determine if the task that is being examined needs a cognitive component to be understood. Secondly, the researcher needs to get a frame of reference for the knowledge that is required for the task. Lastly, structured interviews or other knowledge elicitation techniques need to performed with people who know and perform the task to develop the cognitive task analysis.

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Chipman, S. F., Schraagen, J. M., & Shalin, V. L. (2000). Introduction to cognitive task analysis. In Cognitive task analysis (pp. 17-38). Psychology Press.

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Annett, J., Duncan, K.D., Stammers, R.B., & Gray, M. J. (1971). Task analysis, London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office.

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