An Individual Differences Approach to SWAT Scale Development

Abstract

A refinement to the scale development phase of the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) provides for forming scales for homogeneous subject groups. Groups are formed by determining which of the three dimensions, time load, mental effort load or stress load subjects judge to be the most important contributor to workload. The group scales are then transformed into a SWAT scale that ranges from 0 for the lowest defined workload condition to 100 for the highest workload condition. This procedure should increase the precision of workload measurement while minimizing the effects of individual subject ranking errors.