ABSTRACT
This selective review suggests opportunities for mental load assessment in industrial settings. Considering the well-known difficulties encountered by the usual methods, we first review data acquired through current developments of implicit memory research for (i) measuring the contribution of types of processing within a task, (ii) isolating the influence of basic resources from constructs, and (iii) contrasting automatic and controlled processing. The ecological value of these approaches is then highlighted. First, a non-intrusive but precise method has been developed in each case. Second, there is no longer a need to ask the operator to think back to a study episode when analysing memory. Experiments conducted in a process control situation have helped support several of these points, and confirm the rationality of a position: an ecological analysis of memory does not require abandoning conventional laboratory paradigms, but rather demands the use of paradigms that fit natural functioning.
