Working memory capacity prevents pilots' loss of situation awareness in distraction scenarios--An eye-movement study

Numerous flight accidents have been attributed to pilots' lack of situation awareness (SA), with distraction being a significant contributing factor. Therefore, identifying factors that may protect pilots' SA under distraction conditions and explore their mechanisms is crucial for promoting aviation safety. This study empirically investigates the effects of individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) on pilots' SA when performing secondary tasks. The pilots were divided into two groups based on their performance on the WMC test and were asked to complete a simulated cockpit monitoring task under three secondary task difficulty conditions (no task, low-difficulty task, and high-difficulty task). SA in the simulated monitoring tasks was measured using the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), and eye movement data were collected to analyze visual behaviors and attention allocation. Results showed that the difficulty of secondary task significantly impacted overall SA, the perceptual level of SA and dwell times; however, secondary task difficulty did not affect the perceptual level of SA in pilots with high WMC. These results suggest that WMC protects pilots' perceptual level SA when they perform secondary tasks. This study provides additional insights into the mechanisms of working memory in protecting SA and offers theoretical guidance for the design of complex technical systems and pilot psychological selection, which can help promote aviation safety.