Representação social e processos cognitivos na consciência situacional de pilotos

Abstract

Modern civil aviation demands high cognitive performance and emotional balance from pilots, especially under critical flight conditions characterized by high operational complexity and intense automation. In this context, situational awareness is an essential element for perceiving, interpreting, and anticipating threats, while cognitive overload emerges as a critical factor with the potential to compromise decision-making. This study aimed to analyze pilots’ social representations of situational awareness and cognitive overload, articulating technical, psychophysiological, and symbolic aspects of aeronautical activity. The Social Representations Theory and the Central Core Theory were adopted as theoretical-methodological frameworks, using the technique of free evocations, a sociodemographic questionnaire, and perceptual scales. Data analysis was performed using the EVOC software (Ensemble de Programmes Permettant l’Analyse des Évocations), complemented by descriptive statistics. The results indicated that terms such as “attention,” “decision-making,” “fatigue,” “pressure,” and “situational awareness” constitute the central core of the representations, revealing a perception of continuous mental demand in aviation. Peripheral elements highlighted the importance of training, communication, and safety culture to mitigate risks and sustain human performance. It is concluded that operational safety results from the integration of technical competence, cognitive self-regulation, and a robust organizational culture, reinforcing the need for formative and systemic strategies that promote the maintenance of situational awareness and the prevention of cognitive overload in high-demand contexts.