Mental Models, Situation Models, and Expertise in Flight Situation Awareness

Abstract

The present research examines cognitive processes that support flight situation awareness (SA). Of particular interest is pilot access to condition-action rules that reflect their mental models of flight, and their ability to determine when the rules apply in the context of a specific situation. Pilots were asked to reason about events that take place during flight in multiple 3-screen computer-based trials. In each trial, the first screen indicated a control movement, the second screen depicted a meaningful flight situation, and the third screen indicated a flight situation change. Pilots were asked to judge whether the change depicted in the third screen was consistent with what was expected following application of the control movement depicted in the first screen to the flight situation depicted in the second screen. Judgment accuracy suggests superior access to mental models versus situation models, and systematic differences in knowledge organization as a function of piloting expertise.