Exploring cognitive mechanisms underlying situation awareness acquired by aviators in full flight simulators

Nowadays, Full Flight Simulators (FFS) are used in commercial and military domains to test and train the aviators. In these two domains, situation awareness (SA) can be operationally described as knowing what is required to perform a specific task and having ability to estimate future status of the elements within this task. SA is an umbrella state of cognition including perception, attention, memory, decision making, recognition, tracking, planning. The study focuses on the relations of attention and working memory with SA in FFS contexts. In this study, we are in the process of developing a methodology for exploring attention and working memory mechanisms underlying SA. A combinatory SA measurement methodology is used in a cognitively demanding flight scenario. In this paper, we will propose an SA measurement methodology which is a combination of SAGAT and SPAM with some modifications as well as a cognitive capacity test suit for working memory and attention. We intend to use the cognitive capacity tests to relate their results with the SA measurements. We will also present the technical difficulties and challenges in flight scenario generation and in the application of the proposed SA measurement methodology.