The effect of the level of automation on performance: The mediating role of workload in a mirror-tracing task

The purpose of this study was to examine how performance is affected by the level of automation, through its effect on workload. To investigate this mediation effect, 78 participants conducted an experiment consisting of a mirror-tracing task and a questionnaire. In the mirror-tracing task, the level of automation is manipulated in three different levels. The results suggest that workload is no mediator of the relation between the level of automation on performance. In addition, the results show that performance is influenced by time, which might compensate the mediating effect of workload. When participants normally would have perceived a different workload, they now compensate the performance with time and the workload remains stable. In addition, the results showed that the level of automation is a significant predictor of performance. Furthermore, situation awareness significantly moderates the relation between the level of automation and performance.