Human Information Processing and Decision Making
This domain tests attention, perception, memory, workload and decision making: how pilots process information, where capacity limits appear, and the models used to make and review decisions.
Processing limits
- Attention is limited and selective; vigilance decrements over time, and channelised attention causes fixation on one cue.
- Perception is top-down: expectation and prior experience shape what is seen, which is why confirmation bias is common.
- Memory has sensory, working and long-term stores; working memory is small, so checklists and callouts reduce load.
Decision making
- The DECIDE model: Detect, Estimate, Choose, Identify, Do, Evaluate. Evaluation is essential because a decision can be reviewed and changed.
- Recognition-primed decisions work for familiar situations but fail when the situation is novel.
- Biases include confirmation bias, plan continuation and sunk-cost thinking.
Worked example
Weather ahead is worsening, but the pilot has already committed to the destination. That is plan continuation. Using DECIDE: detect the deterioration, estimate fuel and options, choose diversion, identify the diversion, do it, then evaluate. A good outcome does not prove the decision was good; process matters.
Traps that cost marks
- Equating a good outcome with a good decision.
- Ignoring the effect of fatigue and stress on attention and memory.
- Using a familiar pattern when the situation is not familiar.
- Skipping evaluation after acting.