The APU was set up to assist the War effort. Although founded in 1944, the MRC and armed services funded the work initially in the Psychological Laboratory in the University. Among other topics work during that period had very real effects on:
{fc} marks a topic that includes an historic film clip.

• Personnel selection {fc}

• Flying hours

• Bomb aiming

• Use of Sonar

• Fighter Command control room design

Although taking a reduced proportion of research effort, work continued up until the 1980's. Examples

• Submarine escape procedures {fc}

• Effects of heat and noise stress

• Aiming (now missiles)

• Vigilance & attention, (e.g. multichannel communications)

• Computerisation of military tasks

In the post-war era, an increasing proportion of Unit effort was devoted to non-military applications. Typically, research problems were referred to the Unit by Government or Industry. Advice would be given, either from general scientific principles and data, or through the collection of new data. Practical problems and the research they gave rise to often led to significant extensions to psychological theory and basic neuroscience.

Examples topics are listed below - clicking on those highlighted items will take you to a new page. Those items marked with a {fc} contain a brief film clip made at the time the research was carried out and will give you an impression of laboratory practice in the 1950's, 60's and 70's.

• Complex tasks in work settings: inspection tasks, circuit testing and X-rays {fc}{fc}{fc}

• Telecommunications and postal services: dials, speech in noise, memory, postcodes, data entry {fc}, keyboard design, instructions

• Decimal Currency

• Driver behaviour {fc}{fc}{fc}

• Performance under water and at high altitudes
  

• Government forms, leaflets & hospital signage

• Disruption of sleep and shiftwork

• Monitoring video-displays {fc}

• Handwriting research

• Juror comprehension of complex issues in fraud cases

• Sporting skills (catching and batting)

• Languages and interfaces for "casual" computer users {fc}

• Design of auditory warnings in transport and workplace

• Temporal alignment of words in computerised speech

• Helping children with language and reading problems

• Face Recognition, identity parades and disguise

While the impact of some research is swift, it is important to remember that there is often a large time lag between basic research being carried and its having an effect on real people's lives.