Cognitive Correlates Analysis of Situation Awareness

摘要

One of the most important abilities needed to perform real-time task such as piloting an aircraft or driving a car involves monitoring and comprehending the rapidly changing situations in the tasks, that is, maintaining situation awareness(SA). In this research a model of situation awareness in driving was used to derive a set of individual differences measures. These individual differences measures were embedded in a highway driving simulation (PC-DriveSim) that presented scenarios varying in the type of traffic hazard encountered. The SA model was also used to derive a set of potential cognitive correlates that could be measured and used to predict SA levels in individual subjects. Factor analysis of the SA measures indicated that a single factor provided adequate fit to the data. Then in a set of three correctional studies, a set of cognitive correlates or predictors of situation awareness was identified and refined. In the third study, six predictors were related to an SA composite score resulting in an equation that accounted for 50 percent of the variance. The variables that made significant unique contributions to the equation were time-sharing, temporal processing (rate extrapolation and duration discrimination), visual research, and dynamic visual processing.