Facilitation of Aircraft Recognition by Selective Attentional Allocation
Authors: Hale Chris 
Published: July 2017

When attempting to recognize a potential airborne target in a tactical setting, a field commander is confronted with a variety of variables that may affect the quality of the recognition process. Many of these variables; such as target distance, contrast, and optical countermeasures, are perceptual in nature. Others, like command and control oriented information, are more cognitively based.

The present experiments explored the effects of selective attentional allocation on aircraft target recognition. This was done by manipulating a variety of factors that one might expect to be present in a tactical command and control scenario. The major intent of these experiments was the achievement of insight into the nature of the internal representation upon which aircraft recognition is based and the degree to which subjects can alter attentional algorithms in order to faciliate stimulus processing.

Two alternative accounts of the nature of the internal representation were evaluated. The template model assumes that the representation consists of a template of the target to be recognized. When exposed to a display, the subject maps the display elements onto the template and responds on the basis of the degree of similarity between the display and the internal template. Proponents of this global view assume that processing takes place in a top-down manner (Navon, 1977). The feature model, on the other hand, assumes that recognition is based on a scan through a list of criterial features. Upon encountering a display the subject extracts a list of such features and compares these to a list held in memory. Evidence for such a bottom-up processing algorithm has been advanced by Hoffman (1980).

The experiments were carried out within the context of a two alternative forced-choice paradigm. Subjects viewed a series of displays consisting of silhouettes of two aircraft. One of these was designated as the target (either a MIG-23 or an FB-111). The other silhouette served as a distractor (A-10, F-14, MIG-25 or SU-20). All stimuli were presented on a three channel tachistoscope and subject's responses were recorded with respect to both recognition accuracy and reaction times.

Several variables were manipulated over the course of several experiments; for instance, the contrast of the displays, the presence and type of cue preceeding a stimulus display, the orientation of the silhouettes in each display, and the stimulus onset asynchrony of cue and display.

The specific effects of each of these variables on aircraft silhouette recognition performance will be discussed. Briefly, data indicated that recognition performance degrades under reduced contrast conditions; performance differs depending on from which orientation the display is viewed; and the type of pre-exposure cueing affects the speed of recognition. In addition to this, several interesting interactions among these variables occurred.

These variables, and their effects on aircraft recognition, will be discussed within the context of the nature of the internal representation and the use of selective attentional algorithms by the subject. Subjects apparently were not limited to a single attentional algorithm. Rather, several strategies were potentially available (Dixon, 1981). Subjects altered these processing strategies depending on target orientation, the nature of pre-exposure cueing, and the time available for selection and preparation of an algorithm.