Our typical alarm research setup, featuring a primary task on one computer and intermittent auditory & visual alarms on the other computer.

Research:  Alarms

The "Cry-Wolf Effect"

Starting with my doctoral dissertation, I became interested in conducting research that explores human operators' loss of trust that occurs after a number of false alarms, and the behavioral consequences of that alarm mistrust.

From 1993 to 2001, my students and I conducted a number of research studies at The University of Alabama in Huntsville concerning the effects of false alarms on reactions to alarm systems.

From 2001 to the present, my students at Old Dominion University have worked with me to study many other variables related to alarm trust.  We have published quite a few articles in various scientific journals and conference proceedings. 

Recent references include:

Bliss, J.P., & Fallon, C.K. (2006).  Active warnings II: False alarms.  In M. Wogalter (ed.), Handbook of Warnings (Chapter 19, pp. 232-242).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum.

 

Bliss, J.P., Fallon, C.K., & Nica, N. (2006).  The role of alarm signal duration as a cue for alarm validity.  Applied Ergonomics, 38, 1-9.

 

Newlin, E.T., Bustamante, E.A., Bliss, J.P., Spain, R.D., & Fallon, C.K. (2006).  The effects of relative system reliability and prioritization on alarm reaction patterns.  Proceedings of the 50^th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting.  Santa Monica, CA:  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.  October 16-20:  San Francisco, CA.

 

Bustamante, E.A., & Bliss, J.P. & Anderson, B.L. (2007).  Effects of varying the threshold of alarm systems and workload on human performance.  Ergonomics, 50(7), 1127-1147.

 

Spain, R.D., & Bliss, J.P. (in press).  The effect of a sonification display on operator trust and perceived workload.  Ergonomics.