Towards ecological validity of research in cognitive ergonomics

Psychology is one of the main disciplines that have been implied in the development of cognitive ergonomics. For a long time, at least from the 1960s, some researchers in psychology have contributed to research in cognitive ergonomics with the aim of elaborating basic psychological knowledge, (a) with high ecological validity, and (b) with clear relevance to application. This paper stresses the value of this perspective for psychology as well as cognitive ergonomics, and evaluates the results of such an enterprise. Ecological validity is considered as a particular aspect of external validity that enables researchers to transfer findings from experimental situations ('artificial' ones or designed for research purpose) to real work situations ('natural' (obviously, in this context 'natural' includes 'cultural') ones or imposed by comprehension needs). This aspect is discussed as regards classical distinctions like basic/applied research and research/practice. Attention is particularly devoted to the necessary (ecological) context needed by expert operators to implement their work expertise, which is the target of the comprehension aim of cognitive ergonomics. Conclusions are drawn in terms of methods to design and evaluate ecological validity, not only to understand cognitive mechanisms, but also to improve cognitive work conditions and the overall performance of human-machine systems.