High velocity human factors
High Velocity Human Factors (HVHF) is a paradigm in the human factors sciences that specifically studies human performance in mission critical domains (MCD), such as military combat, law enforcement, fire fighting, etc., when it experiences nonequilibrium. The domain in the human factors standpoint is said to experience nonequilibrium when the situation is perceived by the human agent as being volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. This is usually accompanied by stress caused by time pressure and emotional reactions (high stakes, little time)inherent to the event or situation . A major component of HVHF theory is informed by the emotional modulation of cognition in the context human-systems interaction.
The HVHF analyzes human performance by positing three dimensions:
- Velocity differential (lag in information processing between situational demands and capacity of the human agent)
- Psychophysiological reactions (cardiac defense, attentional tunneling, functional decortication, etc.)
- Decision making (heuristics, recognition-primed decision making)
A discourse on the theory and practice of HVHF for the law enforcement domain has been developed and published to inform the design of products and systems for police.