The Effects of Auditory Working Memory Task on Situation Awareness in Complex Dynamic Environments: An Eye-movement...

Area of Science:

• Human Factors
• Cognitive Psychology
• Aviation Psychology

Background:

• Human errors in aviation are frequently linked to diminished situation awareness (SA).
• Auditory secondary tasks pose a significant threat to SA, yet their specific impact on working memory, SA, and eye movements remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of auditory working memory tasks on situation awareness (SA) and eye-movement patterns.
• To determine if varying levels of visual search training influence the effects of auditory tasks on SA.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-eight participants were assigned to short or long visual search training groups.
• Participants completed a situation awareness task under three auditory conditions: no task, calculation task, and 2-back task.
• Eye-movement data were recorded during the situation awareness task.

Main Results:

• The auditory 2-back task significantly decreased overall SA, Level 1 SA, dwell times, and fixation on task-relevant areas.
• Participants with longer visual search training showed no reduction in overall SA or Level 3 SA when performing the auditory 2-back task.
• Auditory working memory load negatively affected SA during perception and projection stages.

Conclusions:

• Auditory working memory load impairs situation awareness, particularly in the perception and projection phases.
• Increased experience through visual search training can help overcome SA impairments in the projection stage.
• Strategies to prevent SA loss include enhancing communication clarity and providing experience-tailored cognitive training.