ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at human senses and perception. It considers aspects of human information processing and decision making and focuses on human behavior. It is based on cognitive psychology as it is applied in the tradition of maritime human factors. Theories about decision making primarily originated from traditional cognitive psychology, but new research has proposed an alternative paradigm different from classical theories. Each crewmember has certain psychological capabilities and limitations, some of which are related to the specific person, whereas others are of a more general character. Some theories are based on neuropsychological research and findings from people suffering brain damage; others are based on, for example, so-called cognitive science or information-processing paradigms. New decision-making theories, according to the new paradigm, are therefore based on observations of decision making in natural settings rather than laboratory experiments.
