Investigating the Neural Correlates of Different Levels of Situation Awareness and Work Experience

Maintaining good situation awareness is crucial for workers’ safety on the dynamic and complex construction site, and workers with more experience may contribute to better performance in safety. However, little research has investigated the cognitive differences between experienced and novice workers regarding different levels of situation awareness (Level 1: perception, Level 2: comprehension, Level 3: projection). To address this gap, this study investigated the cognitive processes of hazard recognition behaviors among experienced and novice participants using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) across 12 virtual reality scenarios. The results revealed that novice participants showed higher activation in the left prefrontal cortex across all three levels of situation awareness, indicating their tendency to focus on detailed information when faced with unfamiliar environments. In contrast, more experienced workers exhibited increased activation in the right prefrontal cortex, particularly in hazard comprehension and projection (Level 2 and Level 3). This suggests that experienced participants prioritize global control mechanisms by activating the right prefrontal cortex associated with spatial awareness. These results highlight cognitive differences at different levels of situation awareness between experienced and novice participants, providing insights into following behavioral patterns and decisions. Furthermore, these findings offer a theoretical foundation for tailoring safety interventions to address the cognitive deficiencies in each level of situation awareness.