Background. The Situation Present Assessment Method (SPAM) has been identified as a potential tool to measure Situation Awareness (SA) in submarines. Procedural development and evaluation of SPAM has been undertaken at UWA, supported by Australian and U.S Defence Departments. Aims. To examine the predictive validity of SPAM and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT). To examine whether SPAM or SAGAT are disruptive by measuring the impact of their administration on subjective workload and performance. Methods. 179 participants monitored a radar and waterfall display to complete three tasks. Participants completed one scenario where their SA was assessed using SPAM, one with SAGAT, and one control scenario where neither SA measure was taken. Participants completed the SA Rating Technique (SART). Results. SPAM significantly predicted unique variance in all three tasks over and above the variance predicted by SART and workload. SAGAT, but not SPAM, significantly increase subjective workload compared to the control condition. Conclusions. Both SPAM and SAGAT showed predictive validity. However, since SAGAT disrupts the operator from the tasks at hand, this may limit its use in the submarine control room.
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