Situation Awareness and Older Workers

Since 1900, there has been a "graying of America", with the average age of the population steadily rising. Older adults (over age 65) now comprise over 13% of the population, as compared to 4% in 1900, and this number is projected to be 20% by the year 2030 (Moody, 1994). During the next two decades, population growth will be concentrated among those individuals over the age of 50 as the baby boomers will become senior citizens. Along with this shift in the population structure is an increasing concern with the capabilities of and problems faced by older adults, especially given that a decrease in the size of the workforce and changing retirement practices may lead to greater levels of employment of older adults than seen in the past. Although typically studied in younger adults, we would like to argue that the study of Situation Awareness (SA) may be a useful way of assessing the specific problems faced by older workers. Obviously, SA is just as important for older and middle-aged adults as it is for younger individuals and future research in SA needs to address these populations. This is especially true now that SA work is being conducted outside of the military, such as in nuclear power plants and air traffic control towers, where the subject population is likely to be more heterogeneous and SA acquisition in older adults may be more of a concern. We would also like to argue that the study of SA is not just useful for work-related activities, but in everyday situations as well. For example, SA is as important to the older adult trying to cross a busy street as it is to a young pilot trying to shoot down the enemy. In both situations a life may be lost, but good SA could lead to more positive outcomes. Thus, the formation of SA may be critical to continued well-being and adaptive functioning in older adults. The study of aging and SA may present unique problems to researchers. Presently, most of the theoretical work on SA and its measurement methods rely on studies in which the subject population consists either entirely of college students or young military pilots. Due to cognitive changes that may begin occurring during the middle years of a person's lifetime, however, both the formation and assessment of SA could be affected. Age-related changes in cognitive capabilities and experience may force us to examine current operationalizations of SA and their applicability to different age groups. It is the goal of this paper to examine aging-related cognitive changes that may affect a persons' ability to acquire SA. Whereas we will not address specific SA measurement methodologies, much of what we have to say will have implications