A Behavioral Interpretation of Situation Awareness: Prospects for Organizational Behavior Management

Situation awareness (SA) is a construct used in human factors research and application. It is typically employed in the design of equipment to facilitate rapid and adaptive responding in dynamic and high-risk environments. Although the theory backing the SA concept is not entirely compatible with behavioral philosophy, components of the analysis and measures employed in SA work can benefit researchers and practitioners in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). The present discussion includes (a) the definition and context for SA, (b) a behavioral interpretation of SA, (c) the assessment tools used in SA work, and (d) the relevance of SA to behavioral research. This discussion is pertinent to behavior analysts who work in industries where SA terminology is used and seek analytic tools to guide the design of effective interventions.