Abstract
Situation awareness (SA) brings together theories in cognition to examine what an operator perceives, understands and predicts about their environment. Previous characterization of working memory (WM) influence in levels of awareness however is sparse and has several shortcomings, including how both WM and SA have been measured. In the current experiment, a factor analytic approach to WM was adopted based on performance on three different WM tasks. These factor scores were then related to SA which was measured over two forms of scenarios in a complex dynamic decision-making task. In one scenario, Level 1 SA was assessed, and the other assessed Level 3 processes implicitly. Findings from 99 participants indicate WM was unrelated to Level 1, but was related to Level 3 SA with the relationship strengthening with increasing task experience. These results refine and contribute to ongoing theory in the context of SA and dynamic task performance, and provide future directives to individual differences research in human factors.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 141-154 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Implicit measures
- Individual differences
- Situation awareness
- Working memory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Engineering (miscellaneous)
Cite this
The role of working memory in levels of situation awareness. / Gutzwiller, Robert S.; Clegg, Benjamin A.
In: Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, Vol. 7, No. 2, 01.06.2013, p. 141-154.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of working memory in levels of situation awareness
AU - Gutzwiller, Robert S.
AU - Clegg, Benjamin A.
PY - 2013/6/1
Y1 - 2013/6/1
N2 - Situation awareness (SA) brings together theories in cognition to examine what an operator perceives, understands and predicts about their environment. Previous characterization of working memory (WM) influence in levels of awareness however is sparse and has several shortcomings, including how both WM and SA have been measured. In the current experiment, a factor analytic approach to WM was adopted based on performance on three different WM tasks. These factor scores were then related to SA which was measured over two forms of scenarios in a complex dynamic decision-making task. In one scenario, Level 1 SA was assessed, and the other assessed Level 3 processes implicitly. Findings from 99 participants indicate WM was unrelated to Level 1, but was related to Level 3 SA with the relationship strengthening with increasing task experience. These results refine and contribute to ongoing theory in the context of SA and dynamic task performance, and provide future directives to individual differences research in human factors.
AB - Situation awareness (SA) brings together theories in cognition to examine what an operator perceives, understands and predicts about their environment. Previous characterization of working memory (WM) influence in levels of awareness however is sparse and has several shortcomings, including how both WM and SA have been measured. In the current experiment, a factor analytic approach to WM was adopted based on performance on three different WM tasks. These factor scores were then related to SA which was measured over two forms of scenarios in a complex dynamic decision-making task. In one scenario, Level 1 SA was assessed, and the other assessed Level 3 processes implicitly. Findings from 99 participants indicate WM was unrelated to Level 1, but was related to Level 3 SA with the relationship strengthening with increasing task experience. These results refine and contribute to ongoing theory in the context of SA and dynamic task performance, and provide future directives to individual differences research in human factors.
KW - Implicit measures
KW - Individual differences
KW - Situation awareness
KW - Working memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84883350037&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84883350037&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1555343412451749
DO - 10.1177/1555343412451749
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84883350037
VL - 7
SP - 141
EP - 154
JO - Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making
JF - Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making
SN - 1555-3434
IS - 2
ER -