Among the most important and unique abilities of human beings is their capacity to organise and interpret dynamic, complex, conflicting and often incomplete or even inaccurate information with relative ease and efficiency. These abilities often outstrip the capabilities of even the most sophisticated computer algorithms.
In recent years, cognitive psychologists studying human beings in complex technological environments have developed a new paradigm for understanding how people organise and interpret information related to their environment. This construct suggests that much of what we recognise as decision-making involves very little analysis, and indeed may be difficult to describe as a decision at all. It also points to the paramount roles of training and experience in their myriad forms as determinants of human behaviour.
Rather than developing and testing alternative solutions for a given situation to achieve an optimum outcome, as classical decision-making models suggest, human beings seem inclined to employ a far more efficient process in most situations, even when relatively high stakes are involved. This process is especially dominant in time-pressured situations, but its inherent efficiency and generally robust nature tend to encourage reliance upon situation 'satisficing' rather than 'optimising' strategies even where time and resources will permit more rigourous analysis.
The term situational awareness is used to describe the construct used by people to interpret the stream of sensory stimuli received from their environment. Situational awareness represents a sort of real time simulation of the situation from the individual’s own perspective. Prototypical information from this simulation drives expectations based on prior experiences, training and other forms of expertise. An individual's expectations and personal values interact to forge goals that guide behaviour and action. Of course, these may be heavily influenced by the expectations and goals of others, particularly in highly organised settings.
As new information is received situational awareness ensures that it is evaluated for relevance against these expectations. Information that conforms with situational awareness satisfies expectations and influences the development or refining of the goals underlying behaviour and action. Inconsistent or ambiguous information elicits attention and heightened cognitive effort to organise or explain the purpose or meaning of the new cue.
Actions result from an individual's efforts to satisfy goals. How people manage to sort out competing and conflicting goals, therefore, depends heavily on the organisational or environmental context of the situation and the individual's level of experience. These actions inevitably promote feedback that further informs and refines situational awareness.
The intense interdependence between experience and training on one hand and well-informed and constructive situational awareness on the other underpins Fire Service efforts to promote compliance with section 21A of the Fire Service Act 1975. In the event of fire, prompt, expeditious and efficient evacuation depends in large measure upon proper training and practice of fire evacuation procedures.