Appendix B. MOCHA Screen Shots

Figure 7. Welcome screen with pre-entered subject number (125) and monitoring condition selected

The image under the welcome banner is of the Mars Observer from a NASA artist's conception. While this screen was open, the experimenter described the spacecraft's major components (e.g., the solar array, communications antenna). The gray box under the spacecraft image allowed input of a control number for each subject and assignment to the main condition (monitoring, non-monitoring) based on randomization by pairs of subjects. The experimenter or a laboratory assistant enter the subject number and selected the condition before each subject's arrival, and this portion of the screen was not discussed with subjects.

Figure 8. Sample problem from the VZ-2 test of

spatial-visualization ability (SVA)

(adapted from Ekstrom, French, Harman, & Dermen,

1976)

Figure 9. Hierarchy of MOCHA components used for pre-practice training

The subject was instructed to click through the rectangular button on the top, left side of the screen. Corresponding text was then displayed on the top, right side of the screen. To help subjects know which components they had already visited, each button was highlighted in green when the subject clicked on it. The feedback window reports, "No feedback at this time" because feedback is given there only after a subject has completed a practice or test problem.

Figure 10. Monitoring condition: Status messages coming up in the Description area in-between problems.

New messages were added to the bottom of the list at the rate of one every three to four seconds, and the old messages scrolled off the top of the list. All status messages reported on normal operations of spacecraft sub-systems. Subjects were instructed to monitor status messages while waiting for the next problem alert.

Figure 11. Sample MOCHA problem with system data

displayed in a table.

Figure 12. Sample MOCHA test problem with system data displayed in a bar chart.

Figure 13. Sample MOCHA problem with system data

displayed in a line graph

Figure 14. Manual display mode: Subject is given a choice of the display format to be presented (table, bar chart, or timeline).

Once the selection was made, the subject viewed the data corresponding to the problem. Subjects could not make another selection after they had pressed the enter button.

Figure 15. The Details dialog box required the subject to provide an explanation for deciding that, in this case, the actual problem was the problem as reported by the advanced software process in the problem description.

This dialog box was displayed immediately after the subject selected one of the three response options: Problem as reported, False alarm, or Different problem. When the subject completed the explanation, she clicked on OK. The next step was to set the confidence slider in the right section of the Response area to reflect her own confidence in her decision. The final step was to submit the response.

Figure 16. Final screen of the MOCHA experiment