ABSTRACT
In the years following World War II, the linear digital computer was adopted as a model for human cognition, and circa 1965 “cognitive psychology” was proclaimed as a valid topic area. Beginning in the 1970s, psychologists could wear two hatsthat of the computer scientist and that of the psychologist. “Cognitive engineers” conducted research on human-computer interaction and concerned themselves with such issues as interface design (Redish & Wixon, 2003). Also beginning in the 1970s, one of the pioneers of cognitive psychology who paved the way for the discipline of Cognitive Engineering, Donald Norman, began a series of conceptual and empirical investigations into the design of tools, ranging from household appliances to computers (Norman, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998). In parallel, researchers in the nuclear power industry were investigating issues of cognitive complexity of power plant control rooms (Hollnagel & Woods, 1983; Rasmussen, 1981).
