Military Psychology:Military Psychology:Situation AwarenessSituation Awareness

Dr. Steve KassUniversity of West

Florida

Situation AwarenessSituation Awareness -““The perception of the elements in the environment The perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future near future (Endsley, 1988)(Endsley, 1988)

-“Skilled behavior that encompasses the processes by -“Skilled behavior that encompasses the processes by which task-relevant information is extracted, integrated, which task-relevant information is extracted, integrated, assessed, and acted upon”assessed, and acted upon” (Kass, Herschler, & Companion, 1991).(Kass, Herschler, & Companion, 1991).

-““Continuous extraction of environmental information, Continuous extraction of environmental information, integration of this information with previous knowledge integration of this information with previous knowledge to form a coherent mental picture, and the use of that to form a coherent mental picture, and the use of that picture in directing further perception and anticipating picture in directing further perception and anticipating future events”future events” (Dominguez, 1994).(Dominguez, 1994).

Situation Awareness Situation Awareness DefinitionsDefinitions

Is SA a construct, phenomenon, process, or product?Is SA a construct, phenomenon, process, or product?

Levels of SALevels of SALevels of SA 1 – Awareness of information2 – Comprehension of its meaning3 – Projection of future status

Situation Awareness Situation Awareness ComponentsComponents

Components of SA 1. Spatial Awareness

– Loss of SA – GLOC, spatial disorientation

2. System Awareness– Loss of SA – insufficient scan,

distraction, lack of checklist3. Task Awareness

– Loss of SA – Competing tasks, poor task management, lack of vigilance

Rasmussen’s Skill-, Rule-, Rasmussen’s Skill-, Rule-, and Knowledge-based and Knowledge-based performance modelperformance model

NoviceNovice

ExpertExpert

Perf

ormanc

ePerf

orma

nce

Attent

iona

l Dema

ndAttent

ional

Dema

nd

HighHigh

LowLow

AnalyticAnalytic

IntuitiveIntuitive

AutomaticAutomatic

Situation AwarenessSituation Awareness Model Model

Perception of elements in Current SituationLevel 1

Compre-hension of current SituationLevel 2

Projection of Future Status

Level 3

•System Capability•Interface Design•Stress & Workload•Complexity•Automation

SITUATION AWARENESS

DECISIONPerformanc

eOf

Actions

•Goals & Objectives•Preconceptions (Expectations)

Information Processing Mechanisms

Long TermMemory Stores Automaticity

•Abilities•Experience•Training

Task/System Factors

Individual Factors

State of theEnvironment

Feedback

Typical Constructs measured in trying to assess SA

Measuring SAMeasuring SA

SA

WorkloadAttention

Pattern Recognition

Performance

WorkingMemory

MentalModels

Factors Affecting Loss Factors Affecting Loss ofof

Situation AwarenessSituation Awareness• Attention Attention

• attentional demands of controlled processes (k-based performance)

• Pattern RecognitionPattern Recognition• inability to perceive pattern of cues (recognition-primed DM)

• WorkloadWorkload• tasks too demanding or too many at once

• Mental modelsMental models• inadequate understanding of system or state

• Working MemoryWorking Memory• failure to adequately “chunk” information

AttentionAttentionNarrowing of attention under stress (high workload) adversely impacts SA

Examples: • Commercial plane crashes in the Everglades when aircrew becomes fixated on a warning light while the plane slowly descends into the ground.• Outfielder for the Mets tosses ball to a fan after making the second out while runner on base easily scores.

Pattern RecognitionPattern RecognitionPerceptual RecognitionPerceptual Recognition – comparing incoming – comparing incoming

stimulus information with stored stimulus information with stored knowledge in order to categorize the knowledge in order to categorize the information.information.

QB reading pattern of defense

WorkloadWorkloadWorkload often used as a surrogate measure for SA.– Note reference to workload in SA measures such as CLSA and NASA TLX

Mental ModelsMental Models

Mental ModelsMental Models – how people mentally – how people mentally represent the task they are performingrepresent the task they are performing

Represent & organize info by interconnected Represent & organize info by interconnected chunks (schema)chunks (schema) Experts organize schemata into larger, more Experts organize schemata into larger, more meaningful/ easy to access chunks.meaningful/ easy to access chunks. Novices may not see all relevant Novices may not see all relevant connectionsconnections

Use mnemonic devices to help novices organize and Use mnemonic devices to help novices organize and retrieve inforetrieve info

Working MemoryWorking MemoryAbility to “chunk” information may be what distinguishes expert decision-making from that of novices– Magical number 7

IBMUSANBCGREUWFExperts recall larger chunks of information (more chess pieces) when they recognize a meaningful pattern. When the pattern is random, performance same as novices.

Commercial pilots may have to monitor and react to up to 400 instruments and gauges.

747 cockpit

Types of SA MeasuresTypes of SA MeasuresSubjective Ratings

– E.g., China Lake SA Rating Scale, Situation Awareness Rating Technique, SA Supervisory Rating Form

Performance-based– Ability to regain control from dangerous attitudes

Query– SAGAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Instability of SituationVariability of SituationComplexity of SituationArousalSpare Mental CapacityConcentrationDivision of AttentionInformation QuantityInformation QualityFamiliarity

Demand

on

attent

ional

resour

ces

Supply

of

attent

ional

resour

ces

U

nder

-stan

ding

of

situ

atio

nSituation Awareness Situation Awareness Rating TechniqueRating Technique

Low High

Performance-Based Performance-Based Measures of SAMeasures of SA

Performance-based SA measures – ex: Ability to correct from unusual attitude (in simulator)

Query-based Measures Query-based Measures of SAof SA

SAGAT – Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique– Halt simulation– Black-out displays– Randomly selected questions– Pilot recall

Problem of SA Problem of SA MeasurementMeasurement

6 O’Clock Problem6 O’Clock Problem – Can not assess your awareness of the things you are not aware of.

SA is Difficult to measure:SA is Difficult to measure:Self-report measuresSelf-report measures - Only aware of what you are - Only aware of what you are aware ofaware ofPerformance-based measuresPerformance-based measures – Intrusive, measure – Intrusive, measure affects performanceaffects performanceQuery-basedQuery-based – might only tap memory – might only tap memory

Experiment: Driver Experiment: Driver Situation AwarenessSituation Awareness

as a factor of Experience Level & Cell as a factor of Experience Level & Cell Phone UsagePhone Usage Kass, Cole, & Stanny, 2007

Driving InfractionsDriving Infractions

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Novice - No Cell Experienced - No Cell Novice - w/Cell Phone Experienced w/Cell Phone

Total Driving Errors

Road ExcursionsPedestrians StruckStop Signs M issedCenterline CrossingCollisionsSpeed Exceeded

Kass, Cole, & Stanny, 2007

Experiment: Driver Situation Experiment: Driver Situation AwarenessAwareness

as a factor of Experience Level & Cell Phone as a factor of Experience Level & Cell Phone UsageUsage

ImprovingImprovingSituation AwarenessSituation Awareness

Cue Filtering – eliminate irrelevant cues (clutter) that interfere with accurate assessment of situation

Augmented Displays – displays that highlight or overlay actual information to make it more salient

Spatial Organization – arranging displays to capitalize on spatial relationships (e.g., pop-out effect)

Automate Status Updates – as the environment changes the system should warn the user of change

Train Users to Improve Attention?

Cue Filtering for Cue Filtering for Improving SAImproving SA

Removal of clutter (irrelevant cues) in training allows learner to identify relevant cues better– Real-world “clutter” can then be gradually phased back into training.

Spatial Organization in Spatial Organization in Display Design for Display Design for

Improving SAImproving SADisplay design capitalizing on spatial relationships– “Pop-out effect”

Tactile Situation Tactile Situation Awareness SystemAwareness System

Tactile stimulation used Tactile stimulation used to prevent spatial to prevent spatial disorientationdisorientation

Tactile cues can provide Tactile cues can provide status updates status updates regardless of where regardless of where attention is currently attention is currently focusedfocused

Human factors application of tactile research

Tactile Situation Tactile Situation Awareness System Awareness System

(TSAS)(TSAS)Map surrounding space to the torso tactually

Intuitive in three dimensions

Non-visualNon-competingContinuous source

Utilizes “seat of the pants” sense

TSAS Performance MeansTSAS Performance MeansRMSERMSETSAS

Off On

SecondaryTask

No

Yes

M = 4.55SD = 3.55

M = 4.33SD = 3.48

M = 7.24SD = 3.73

M = 5.75SD = 3.06

•RMSE for helicopter hover under 20/200 viewing conditions (White out)•Secondary task was a simple arithmetic task

Augmented Reality Augmented Reality DisplaysDisplays

Augmented DisplaysAugmented Displays - display that improves - display that improves upon reality by superimposing info over upon reality by superimposing info over actual environmentactual environment

ex: thermal imaging color codes objects by ex: thermal imaging color codes objects by temperaturetemperature

HUDs superimpose display information on the PVA

Mindfulness Training Mindfulness Training and SA?and SA?

• Few, if any, attempts to improve SA have Few, if any, attempts to improve SA have focused on the human component of the human-focused on the human component of the human-machine systemsmachine systems• Research idea: mindfulness training to Research idea: mindfulness training to increase ability to concentrate and improve increase ability to concentrate and improve attentionattention

Experiment: Mindfulness Experiment: Mindfulness & SA& SA

Impact of mindfulness training on Impact of mindfulness training on situation awareness while drivingsituation awareness while driving

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

M indfulness Training Control Group

• Mindfulness training – Buddhist Psychology Class• Control group – Experimental Psychology Class

SA q

uestio

ns cor

rect (

out

of 9

)

• Mindfulness – Moving and sharpening the focus of awareness within the field of consciousness.• Concentration – Actively maintaining one’s controlled focus of attention for designated periods of time

Experiment: Mindfulness Experiment: Mindfulness & SA& SA

Impact of mindfulness training on Impact of mindfulness training on situation awareness while drivingsituation awareness while driving

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.1. Situation Awareness

-- .80**

.61* -.65*

-.14 -.11 -.01

2. Mindfulness -- .69**

-.49 -.07 .10 -.61*

3. Concentration -- -.40 -.08 .12 -.204. Stopping violations

-- .13 .03 -.20

5. Speeding Violations

-- .01 -.07

6. Vehicle Collisions

-- -.04

7. Pedestrian Collisions

--

* p < .05. **p < .01.

SA Medical TrainingSA Medical TrainingGaba et al’s suggestions for training SA in

medical applications1. Provide practice scanning instruments and

environment to maximize perception of cues from all relevant data streams

2. Provide explicit training in allocation of attention using low fidelity simulations, and multi-faceted training in high fidelity simulations

3. Provide enhanced training in situation assessment and on pattern matching of cues to known disease and fault conditions