Chapnis, A. (1983). "Engineering Psychology" in M. D. Dunnette. The Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York, Wiley: 697-744.

Engineering psychology is concerned with the discovery and application of infomation about human behavior in relation to machines, tools, jobs, and work environments. The ultimate goal is to help in the design of equipment, tasks, workplaces, and work environments to best match worker's abilities and limitations.

Human factors engineering and ergonomics are concerned with human performance, behavior, and training in man-machine systems and the design of man-machine systems.

Industrial psychology traditionally saw the job as a given. Engineering psychology took the opposite view.

The man-machine model used is a circular process of:

Info processing --> controlling --> controls --> operation --> display ---> sensing --- info processing.

and input --> operation ---> output

The controls, operation, and displays are part of the machine, the sensing, info processing, and controlling are a part of the work environment.

Some important consideration in engineering psychology are:

1. Selection of a sense channel

2. The visual display of information

3. Auditory display of information

4. Design of Controls

5. Dynamics of powered control systems

6. Systems Approach

* costs and tradeoffs

* personell subsystem

* selection

* training

* operating procedures

* equipment design

* work environment

7. Systems evaluation