ABSTRACT
Groupinteractioninhighriskenvironmentscanbeviewedascommunication undertheinfluenceoftaskload,suchastimepressureorimpendingdanger.The taskloadimposedonoperatorsstronglydependsonthenumberoftaskstobe performedsimultaneouslyandonthedifficultyofthetask(s).Thebasic perspectivetakenintheprojectTaskLoadandtheMicrostructureofCognitionfromhereonreferredtoasMicrostructureGroup-istheviewofcognitive psychologyfromwhichthehumanmindisperceivedasaninformationprocessing device,consistingofseparablebutinterrelatedprocessingstages,levelsormodules thatarearrangedinacertainorderorhaveaparticulararchitecture.Eachofthese modulesdealswithaspecificaspectoftheprocessingtask:receivinginformation fromsensoryorgans,transformingandtransmittingittosubsequentstages.Classic examplesaresuggestedmodulesthatarespecializedforparsingspeechinputinto phonemesorforrecognizingfaces(Fodor,1983).Importantissuesincognitive psychologyincludetheidentificationofprocessingstagesandtheirmodeof operation.Aseparateissueistheflexibilityofinformationprocessing,thatis,ifthe modeofoperationorthearchitectureofthecognitivesystemchangesasafunction offactorssuchasdemandsonspeedoraccuracy,expertiseorfatigue.
