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

Objective This study investigated the effect of auditory working memory task on situation awareness (SA) and eye-movement patterns in complex dynamic environments. Background Many human errors in aviation are caused by a lack of SA, and distraction from auditory secondary tasks is a serious threat to SA. However, it remains unclear how auditory working memory tasks affect SA and eye-movement patterns. Method Participants (n = 28) were randomly allocated to two groups and received different periods of visual search training (short versus long). They subsequently completed a situation awareness measurement task in three auditory secondary task conditions (without secondary task, auditory calculation task, and auditory 2-back task). Eye-movement data were collected during the situation awareness measurement task. Results The auditory 2-back task significantly reduced overall SA, Level 1 SA, dwell times, and total percentage of fixation time on task-related areas of interests in the SA measurement task. Overall SA and Level 3 SA were not reduced by the auditory 2-back task in individuals in the longer visual search training time condition. Conclusion Auditory working memory load impairs SA in the perception and projection stage; however, greater experience can overcome impairment of SA in the projection stage. Application This study provided possible approaches to preventing loss of SA: (1) improving crew members' communication skills to ensure the accurate and clear transmission of information, reducing the difficulty of processing information, and (2) providing targeted cognitive training tailored to each pilot's level of experience.