Human-Technology Interaction
This general line of work was another diversification of my research profile necessitated by my inability to continue basic research with animals. As noted in my background section, I have had a long standing interest in technology dating back to my early exposure to laboratory electronics and computing methods. The central issue of importance to me here has been how human users of technology are affected and influenced by the very technology they employ. I began to explore this issue in the mid-80s in a series of studies examining human-like vs. machine-like interfaces and their distinctive effects on the user.
As this work has evolved, we have examined the broader impact of technology on human behavior including certain psychological and ethical issues relating to how humans interact with devices like computers, robots, and most recently, remotely-piloted aircraft. The several different aspects of this work are described within the sub-links of this section.