Comprehension and Situation Awareness

Drivers’ Reliance on Lane-Keeping Assistance Systems as a Function of the Level of Assistance

“…Meanwhile, SA has been applied to many areas in which operators act in complex dynamically changing environments and where automation of task processes becomes more and more prevalent (Durso & Sethumadhavan, 2008;Wickens, 2008). While the intuitive notion of "knowing what is going on around you" (Endsley, 2000b, p. 5) as a prerequisite for successful performance is most widely accepted by human factors researchers; the status of SA as a concept, its definition and measurement is still subject to an ongoing debate (e.g., Dekker & Hollnagel, 2004;Durso, Rawson, & Girotto, 2007;Flach, 1995;Gelau & Krems, 2009;Rousseau, Tremblay, & Breton, 2004;Sarter & Woods, 1991;Tenney & Pew, 2006).…”

“…A central role in this definition has the concept of a dynamic mental representation of the situation, which is also referred to as situation model following Van Dijk and Kintsch's (1983) notion in text comprehension (Baumann & Krems, 2007;Durso & Gronlund, 1999;Durso et al, 2007;Endsley, 1995b). This situation model is dynamic in the sense that it has to be continuously updated through the alternation of top-down and bottom-up attentional processes (Adams et al, 1995;Baumann & Krems, 2007;Durso et al, 2007;Endsley, 1995bEndsley, , 2000b.…”

“…The successful alternation of top-down and bottom-up control of attention is seen as a prerequisite for maintaining a high level of situation awareness (Adams et al, 1995;Durso et al, 2007;Endsley, 1995bEndsley, , 2000b. The currency and comprehensiveness of the situation model is necessary for guiding attention to the relevant cues in the environment (top-down control of attention).…”

“…This situation model is dynamic in the sense that it has to be continuously updated through the alternation of top-down and bottom-up attentional processes (Adams et al, 1995;Baumann & Krems, 2007;Durso et al, 2007;Endsley, 1995bEndsley, , 2000b. The construction of the situational model is based on the perception of new elements in the environment which are then integrated into a coherent mental representation by means of pattern recognition (Durso & Gronlund, 1999;Durso et al, 2007). Pattern recognition happens through the activation of knowledge structures in long-term memory such as mental models and schemata whereby the current situation is connected to prior experiences of similar situations or configurations of elements (Baumann & Krems, 2007).…”

“…The SA measures used in this study can be described as implicit performance measures using response latency and response magnitude as the major dependent variables (Durso & Gronlund, 1999;Durso et al, 2007). Although decision-making and response selection processes are not viewed as integral part of SA (though supporting it), it is assumed that the initial point of drivers' reaction can be used to draw conclusions about automation-induced changes in the cognitive processes which are involved in the incorporation of specific environmental information in the actual mental representation of the situation.…”