# Human Information Processing

> How pilots perceive, process, and act on information.

- **Subject:** 040 — Human Performance Limitations
- **Section:** 040-03 — Basic Aviation Psychology
- **Topic code:** 040-03-01
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-01
- **Author:** Pablo Asensio Martínez
- **HTML version:** https://pilotsyllabus.com/en/human-performance-limitations/basic-aviation-psychology/human-information-processing/

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## The Processing Model

![Information Processing Model - Atkinson & Shiffrin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Information_Processing_Model_-_Atkinson_%26_Shiffrin.jpg)

Information flows through distinct stages:
1.  **Sensation**: Receptors detect stimuli (Light, Sound).
2.  **Sensory Memory**: Holds raw data for a split second (Iconic/Visual: 0.5s, Echoic/Auditory: 2-8s).
3.  **Perception**: Giving meaning to the sensation based on experience/models (Top-down processing).
4.  **Decision Making**: Choosing an action.
5.  **Action**: Executing the response.

## Memory Systems
*   **Short Term Memory (Working Memory)**:
    *   **Capacity**: Very limited (7 $\pm$ 2 items).
    *   **Duration**: 10-20 seconds without rehearsal.
    *   **Vulnerability**: Easily disrupted by distraction.
*   **Long Term Memory**:
    *   **Capacity**: Unlimited.
    *   **Types**:
        *   **Episodic**: Events/Experiential.
        *   **Semantic**: Facts/Knowledge.
        *   **Procedural**: Motor skills (Flying "hands and feet").

## Attention
*   **Selective Attention**: Focusing on one source, ignoring others (Cocktail Party Effect). Risk of tunnelling.
*   **Divided Attention**: Time-sharing between tasks. Performance drops as tasks increase.
*   **Sustained Attention**: Vigilance over long periods. Hard for humans (hypovigilance).

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