The science of situational awareness?

[Double Naught Spy]

"situational awareness," loosely defined as the ability to perceive threats.

Interesting loose definition. I would call it a very narrow definition. I always thought threat awareness was the ability to perceive threats. Situational awareness was the ability to be aware of what is going on in one's own immediate environment inclusive of threats, but also of opportunities, opitons, non-threats, etc. So it isn't just about recognizing danger signs, but also having the information available about the local surroundings. This may be useful should there be trouble, but also as a meaning of simply operating better in your immediate enviornment.

The driving analogy was noted above and is a good one for situational awareness. While it may have nothing to do with danger, a driver with good situational awareness can avoid many traffic snarls, make better lane decisions, etc., along with avoiding being hit by other cars or beset by panhandlers.

 

[MLeake]

Situational Awareness, from a pilot's viewpoint

Are there other aircraft around me? If in visual conditions, when was the last time I visually cleared all forward sectors? If in instrument conditions, when was the last time I heard another aircraft or a controller on the radio?

What is my aircraft's attitude? (Nose up or down; wings level or banked left/right; turning or straight) Is the aircraft attitude appropriate for where I am and what I am trying to do?

What is my altitude? Is it suitable for terrain avoidance in my vicinity? Is it appropriate for my direction of travel (based on conventions for compass heading)? If I am below a safe obstacle clearance altitude, due to being on approach or climbout, is my navigation assured so that I will not run into terrain?

What is my airspeed? Is it suitable to maintain airflow over the wings to maintain altitude at the angle of bank I plan to achieve? Is it steady, or is it accelerating or decelerating?

How is my engine running? Are major indications normal and in the green?

Do I have adequate fuel for my intended destination and alternate? Is my actual fuel level tracking along with my predictions from flight planning? If not, what trends are developing? Should I consider a different destination or alternate?

If I lose an engine right now, what is the safest direction to turn while I try to troubleshoot, and restart if appropriate? Where is the nearest suitable divert field? Are there obstructions between my present position and my chosen divert for this leg?

If in a multi-crew aircraft, is my crew performing as expected and responding as expected for the given situation?

Note1: This list is not all-inclusive.

Note2: A competent pilot runs through a sequence like this very, very frequently. In visual conditions, 90% of scan should be outside, but even then the other pieces of this list should be thought through every 10 or 20 seconds (attitude, altitude, airspeed) to every one to several minutes (engine, fuel, navigation).

Note3: Anything that looks, feels, sounds, or smells funny should require additional attention, even if there's no immediate rational definition of the problem.

Note4: No matter what kind of troubleshooting you have to do, ALWAYS maintain positive control of aircraft attitude, airspeed, direction of travel, and altitude (or rate of descent if an engine is out).

So, to pilots at least, SA has a much broader definition than "threat analysis".

 

[Evan Thomas]

"situational awareness," loosely defined as the ability to perceive threats.

Interesting loose definition. I would call it a very narrow definition. I always thought threat awareness was the ability to perceive threats. Situational awareness was the ability to be aware of what is going on in one's own immediate environment inclusive of threats, but also of opportunities, opitons, non-threats, etc. So it isn't just about recognizing danger signs, but also having the information available about the local surroundings. This may be useful should there be trouble, but also as a meaning of simply operating better in your immediate enviornment.

You're absolutely right, of course. The Times article was focussed mainly on research on threat awareness, and that's often what people mean when they (loosely) talk about "situational awareness" in this forum; but your definition is spot-on, and I think is very much what we've been talking about.

So, to pilots at least, SA has a much broader definition than "threat analysis".

Great post. Thanks for that.

Now, who'll tackle the equivalent set of "attentional behaviors" for walking down a city street? I have my own notions about this, but... I keep wanting to come back to the canoeing analogy, which isn't the best one for this forum.

 

[nazshooter]

Vanya:

One question this raises for me is what role sense of smell might play in some of this, especially as it relates to people? We say casually, "Something doesn't smell right," and I wonder if it can literally be true with people. If so, it's another cue we'd be likely to notice at a less-than-conscious level, I think. And I wonder if it's trainable, and how you'd do that...

That reminds me of a story from "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" Here's a small snippet.

Then I looked at the bookshelf and said, "Those books you haven't
looked at for a while, right? This time, when I go out, take one book off
the shelf, and just open it -- that's all -- and close it again; then put it
back."
So I went out again, she took a book, opened it and closed it, and put
it back. I came in -- and nothing to it! It was easy. You just smell the
books. It's hard to explain, because we're not used to saying things about
it. You put each book up to your nose and sniff a few times, and you can
tell. It's very different. A book that's been standing there a while has a
dry, uninteresting kind of smell. But when a hand has touched it, there's a
dampness and a smell that's very distinct.

It seems that our noses (and maybe other senses) are a lot more capable than we realize.

 

[Phoebe]

Background: I'm a trained (graduate school level) social science researcher, though that's not my field anymore.

It is legitimate to ask the question...nature or nurture. Science advances by picking a hypothesis and then testing it and either validating or discarding it. There are ways to figure out how much any given variable contributes to a particular behavior.

Leaving my inner researcher aside, some people have good common sense, and some don't. I have known people who will, repeatedly find themselves drawn to sociopaths, and they seem to have no radar or self-protective instinct to kick in.

My "spidey sense", is well attuned. If I get a "bad vibe" from someone, I need to take heed.

I'm not sure if that part can be trained.

But some people have good instinct and have learned to ignore that inner voice.

But that people sense, is not identical to SA. In fact, I'm not even sure how much overlap there is. I do think it may be easier in the country because, if something is out of place, it's not hard for it to be found in the back of the mind. As someone else pointed out (maybe Vanya?), in the city, we are overwhelmed with input to all of our senses, which makes it harder to spot something that is askew.

Though the bigger problem is likely to be gadgets, (boy have I recently realized that having my head in a cellphone makes me oblivious), daydreaming, or general lack of attention to nuances that mean something may be about to go wrong.

Years ago, I was walking from my car, to a night club. I was alone and in a bad area. A man jumped out to grab my purse. I was utterly oblivious. But someone else had SA, and jumped at the guy that was about to jump at me. No harm came to me, nor did I lose my purse. But if I had SA, I'd have noticed in the same way the GG noticed. (Do we use GG here in contrast to BG? )

Interesting article.

 

[robmkivseries70]

I'd like to reiterate M1911's mention of DeBecker's "Gift of Fear". It is a well done read on situational awareness. I just saw a copy in the local book store yesterday.
Best,
Rob

 

[nazshooter]

I wonder what regular folks can do to train/practice this stuff. I've been successful at developing some good habits such as scanning high threat areas from a distance before approaching but there are some things that I really need to work on. For example, my wife and I might both notice that nervous guy in the store but she notices what's in his basket, his shoes, hands (smooth/clean vs. rough/dirty), etc. Me, I can probably tell you what color shirt he was wearing. She'll also notice if a store employee seems to be keeping an eye on us while I hardly ever do.

Way back in driver's ED they'd show us a slide for a second or two and we'd have to list all the safety issues we noticed (brake lights, kid about to step between two parked cars etc). Does something like this exist for SA?

 

[Dannyl]

from experience, 2 suggestions

Hi All,
One of the principles that will help minimize reaction time is to "have a plan".
This means that you train yourself to react in a certain manner to a given scenario. Yes, there are many variants, but having the initial response planned and reharesed (even if is only in your mind) gives you the advantage of a much faster reaction, which you can then adapt to the circumstaces.

I spent a few years in a place where IED / Sniper / Ambush were a daily occurence, and what has been written above regarding "thinking like a predator" is very true; it translates to looking at the terrain and items, and thinking" "If I wanted to place an Ambush / IED, where would I place it? what would be my access and egress routes?" by identifying these objects and places, and be prepared to the possibility that others have thought of it as you did (your adversaries). in Civilain life, it tells me that If I see a cash-transport armored vehicle I make sure I move away from the area and FAST.
Over here these vehicles are literally lead-magnets, and the BGs use AKs. Even when this is in the parking lot of a mall.(happens on average twice a week at least in South Africa), it also reminds you to park your car in a well lit area the parking lot, and so on. you simply get used to identifying potential threats before you are in danger.

What this means is that if you have to move into a place that puts you at disadvantage, you are aware of it, and more ready to react should you have to, and if you can, you avoid getting into this place or circumstances.

One can live with this awareness without being paranoid, you are just more aware of your surroundings.

Brgds,

Danny

 

[Dubs]

I think people have a tendency to over-complicate the sympathetic nervous system. They call it the "Fight or Flight" response for a reason. They are both very primal.

The "Flight" response occurs when you believe you are prey, and this translates to "Run in the opposite direction as fast as you can" and your fine motor skills go completely out the window. The problem is, in the world of things requiring fine motor skills (operating cars, unlocking doors) and the general futility of running (bullets) makes it a very self-destructive response - what we call "panic."

This is where I think "thinking like a predator" comes in to play, because it nurtures the "Fight" response, where your adrenaline turns from uncontrollable shaking to unrelenting focus. This, in my experience, not only requires the mental conditioning of "predator confidence," so to speak, but actual experience and competence in the field. You can pretend to focus all you want, but if you sincerely don't know what to do, you are going to panic.

So yes, like the article says... training and conditioning is really the only way. Thinking like a predator is a symptom, not a cause.

Re: Situational Awareness in the civilian world: They basically teach even every security guard this skill. It has less to do with practicing being "shifty-eyed" than learning all of the intricacies of body language, body language, body language. Even the most naturally empathic person can't read the subtleties of body language at birth. There are tons of little things to look for and you're never done learning.