Coincidence Between the Scientific and Folk Uses of the Term “Situation(al) Awareness” in Aviation Incident Reports

Abstract

A total of 81,378 reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System were analyzed to determine if discrepancies appear to exist between the folk use of the term situation(al) awareness, as reflected in the use of the term by pilots and controllers when reporting incidents, and the scientific use of the term, as reflected by prior research. In all, 1,151 (1.4%) reports were identified as citing situation(al) awareness in the narrative portion of the records. This represents a surprisingly large discrepancy between the prevalence of the use of the term situational awareness in incidents and what one might expect from the literature. Inconsistencies were also found for the impact of experience on situation awareness. The effects of workload and perceptual conditions were consistent between this and other empirical studies. These findings suggest that differences do exist between the folk use of the term situation(al) awareness and the scientific use, with implications for understanding and measuring situation awareness.

Keywords

situation awareness experience workload perception phenomenology

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aviation Safety Reporting System. (2001). ASRS database. Retrieved from http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/

Aviation Safety Reporting System. (2007). ASRS program briefing. Retrieved from http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/docs/ASRS_ProgramBriefing09.ppt

Belle

G. V.

(2002). Sample size. In Statistical rules of thumb (pp. 29–51). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Billings

C. E.

(1995, November). Situation awareness measurement and analysis: A commentary. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the International Conference on Experimental Analysis and Measurement of Situation Awareness, Daytona Beach, FL.

Blandford

Wong

B. L. W.

(2004). Situation awareness in emergency medical dispatch. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 61, 421–452.

Brookings

J. B.

Wilson

G. F.

Swain

C. R.

(1996). Psychophysiological responses to changes in workload during simulated air traffic control. Biological Psychology, 42, 361–377.

Burns

C. M.

Skraaning

J. G.

Jamieson

G. A.

Lau

Kwok

Welch

Andresen

(2008). Evaluation of ecological interface design for nuclear process control: Situation awareness effects. Human Factors, 50, 663–679.

Caretta

T. R.

Perry

D. C.

Ree

M. J.

(1996). Prediction of situational awareness in F-15 pilots. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 6, 21–41.

Chavin

Clostermann

J. P.

Hoc

J.-M.

(2008). Situation awareness and the decision-making process in a dynamic situation: Avoiding collisions at sea. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 2, 1–23.

10.

Crane

P. M.

(1992). Theories of expertise as models for understanding situation awareness (ADP006943). Williams, AZ: Armstrong Lab.

11.

Dekker

(2010). Epistemological self-confidence in human factors research. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 4, 27–38.

12.

Dekker

Hollnagel

(2004). Human factors and folk models. Cognition, Technology & Work, 6, 79-86.

13.

Di Nocera

Camilli

Terenzi

(2007). A random glance at the flight deck: Pilots’ scanning strategies and the real-time assessment of mental workload. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 1, 271–285.

14.

Durso

F. T.

Hackworth

C. A.

Truitt

T. R.

Crutchfield

Nikolic

Manning

C. A.

(1998). Situation awareness as a predictor of performance for en route air traffic controllers. Air Traffic Control Quarterly, 6, 1–20.

15.

Durso

F. T.

Sethumadhavan

(2008). Situation awareness: Understanding dynamic environments. Human Factors, 50, 442–448.

16.

Endsley

M. R.

(1988, October). Design and evaluation for situation awareness enhancement. Paper presented at the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA.

17.

Endsley

M. R.

(1995a). A taxonomy of situation awareness errors. In Fuller

Johnston

McDonald

(Eds.), Human factors in aviation operations (pp. 287–292). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

18.

Endsley

M. R.

(1995b). Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Human Factors, 37, 32–64.

19.

Endsley

M. R.

(1999). Situation awareness in aviation systems. In Garland

D. J.

Wise

J. A.

Hopkin

V. D.

(Eds.), Human factors in aviation systems (pp. 257–276). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

20.

Endsley

M. R.

(2006). Expertise and situation awareness. In Ericsson

K. A.

Charness

Feltovich

P. J.

Hoffman

R. R.

(Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp. 633-651). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

21.

Endsley

M. R.

Bolstad

C. A.

(1994). Individual differences in pilot situation awareness. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 4, 241–264.

22.

Endsley

M. R.

Bolté

Jones

D. G.

(2003). Designing for situation awareness: An approach to user-centered design. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.

23.

Flach

J. M.

(1995). Situation awareness: Proceed with caution. Human Factors, 37, 149–157.

24.

Fracker

M. L.

(1991). Measures of situation awareness: Review and future directions (AL-TR-1991-0128). Wright-Patterson AFB, OH: USAF Armstrong Laboratory.

25.

Gaba

D. M.

Howard

S. K.

Small

S. D.

(1995). Situation awareness in anesthesiology. Human Factors, 37, 20–31.

26.

Gilson

R. D.

(1995). Special issue preface. Human Factors, 37, 3–4.

27.

Gugerty

L. J.

(1997). Situation awareness during driving: Explicit and implicit knowledge in dynamic spatial memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 3, 42–66.

28.

Hendy

K. C.

(1995). Situation awareness and workload: Birds of a feather. In AGARD AMP symposium on situational awareness: Limitations and enhancements in the aviation environment (pp. 21-1–21-7). Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine.

29.

Howard

G. S.

(1994). Why do people say nasty things about self-reports? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 399–404.

30.

Jenkins

J. C.

Gallimore

J. J.

(2008). Configural features of helmet-mounted displays to enhance pilot situation awareness. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 79, 397–407.

31.

Jones

D. G.

Endsley

M. R.

(1996). Sources of situation awareness errors in aviation. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 67, 507–512.

32.

Kass

S. J.

Cole

K. S.

Stanny

C. J.

(2007). Effects of distraction and experience on situation awareness and simulated driving. Transportation Research Part F: Psychology and Behaviour, 10, 321–329.

33.

Lackey

(2002). Can you trust your data? Quality Progress, 35, 128.

34.

Landry

S. J.

(2007). Human-computer interaction in aerospace. In Jacko

J. A.

Sears

(Eds.), Handbook of human-computer interaction (2nd ed., pp. 721–740). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

35.

Kaber

D. B.

(2005). Situation awareness and workload in driving while using adaptive cruise control and a cell phone. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 35, 939–953.

36.

Mameli

Bateson

(2006). Innateness and the sciences. Biology and Philosophy, 21, 155–188.

37.

McGrath

B. J.

Estrada

Braithwaite

M. G.

Raj

A. K.

Rupert

A. H.

(1998). Tactile situation awareness system flight demonstration (Rep. No. A891224). Fort Rucker, AL: Army Aeromedical Research Lab.

38.

Niessen

Eyferth

Bierwagen

(1999). Modelling cognitive processes of experienced air traffic controllers. Ergonomics, 42, 1507–1520.

39.

Nisbett

R. E.

Wilson

T. D.

(1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231–239.

40.

Nullmeyer

R. T.

Stella

Montijo

G. A.

Harden

S. W.

(2005, December). Human factors in air force flight mishaps: Implications for change. Paper presented at the 27th Annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference, Arlington, VA.

41.

Parasuraman

Mouloua

Hilburn

(1999). Adaptive aiding and adaptive task allocation enhance human-machine interaction. In Scerbo

Mouloua

(Eds.), Automation technology and human performance: Current research and trends (pp. 119–123). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

42.

Parasuraman

Sheridan

T. B.

Wickens

C. D.

(2008). Situation awareness, mental workload, and trust in automation: Viable, empirically supported cognitive engineering constructs. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 2, 140–160.

43.

Perry

C. M.

Sheik-Nainar

M. A.

Segall

Kaber

D. B.

(2008). Effects of physical workload on cognitive task performance and situation awareness. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 9, 95–113.

44.

Razavi

(2001). Self-report measures: An overview of concerns and limitations of questionnaire use in occupational stress research (Paper 01-175). Southampton, UK: University of Southampton.

45.

Rosekind

Graeber

Dinges

Connell

Rountree

Spinweber

Gillen

K. A.

(1994). Crew factors in flight operations 9: Effects of planned cockpit rest on crew performance and alertness in long-haul operations (Rep. No. NASA-TM-108839). Moffett Field, CA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

46.

Salmon

P. M.

Stanton

N. A.

Walker

Baber

Jenkins

McMaster

Young

M. S.

(2008). What really is going on? Review of situation awareness models for individuals and teams. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 9, 297–323.

47.

Salmon

P. M.

Stanton

N. A.

Walker

Green

(2006). Situation awareness measurement: A review of applicability for C4i environments. Applied Ergonomics, 37, 225–238.

48.

Salmon

P. M.

Stanton

N. A.

Walker

G. H.

Jenkins

Baber

McMaster

(2008). Representing situation awareness in collaborative systems: A case study in the energy distribution domain. Ergonomics, 51, 367–384.

49.

Sarter

N. B.

Woods

D. D.

(1991). Situation awareness: A critical but ill-defined phenomenon. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 1, 45–57.

50.

Sarter

N. B.

Woods

D. D.

Billings

C. E.

(1997). Automation surprises. In Salvendy

(Ed.), Handbook of human factors and ergonomics (Vol. 2, pp. 1926–1943). New York, NY: John Wiley.

51.

Sohn

Y. W.

Doane

S. M.

(2004). Memory processes of flight situation awareness: Interactive roles of working memory capacity, long-term working memory, and expertise. Human Factors, 46, 461–475.

52.

Sonnenwald

D. H.

Maglaughlin

K. L.

Whitton

M. C.

(2004). Designing to support situation awareness across distances: An example from a scientific collaboratory. Information Processing and Management, 40, 989–1011.

53.

Spector

P. E.

(1994). Using self-report questionnaires in OB research: A comment on the use of a controversial method. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 385–392.

54.

Stanton

N. A.

Chambers

P. R. G.

Piggott

(2001). Situational awareness and safety. Safety Science, 39, 189–204.

55.

Stanton

N. A.

Stewart

Harris

Houghton

R. J.

Baber

McMaster

. . . Green

(2006). Distributed situation awareness in dynamic systems: Theoretical development and application of an ergonomics methodology. Ergonomics, 49, 1288–1311.

56.

Taylor

R. M.

(1989, October). Situational Awareness Rating Technique (SART): The development of a tool for aircrew systems design. Paper presented at the NATO AGARD Conference on Situational Awareness in Aerospace Operations, Springfield, VA.

57.

Wilson

T. D.

Brekke

(1994). Mental contamination and mental correction: Unwanted influences on judgments and evaluations. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 117–142.