Navigating Cognitive Control: Exploring the Stability-Flexibility Dilemma in VR Flight Missions

Objective:This study explores how the stability-flexibility dilemma of cognitive control affects multitasking performance in a high-fidelity military flight environment. Background: Cognitive control is subject to the stability-flexibility-dilemma, linked to performance benefits and disadvantages. Previous research highlighted its impact on multitasking performance in a low-fidelity flight environment. This study extends that work by examining these effects in a more realistic flight simulation. Method: Two within-subject experiments were conducted in a virtual reality flight simulator simulating a reconnaissance mission. Top-down (task instructions) and bottom-up (flight phase, friend-foe-ratio) factors were investigated in relation to the stability-flexibility dilemma and their effect on mission performance, mental workload, and task difficulty. Results: Results from both experiments emphasize the importance of top-down and bottom-up factors in influencing cognitive control during flight missions. These effects were task-specific, with perceived task difficulty also playing an important role in this relationship. Conclusion: The findings highlight the critical role of cognitive control in multitasking flight performance, with important implications for the development of adaptive assistance systems and pilot training programs aimed at enhancing safety and mission efficiency.