Evaluation of cognitive performance of seafarers in heavy weather conditions using cognitive test software application

Cognitive science is an area of science that defines psychological processes of decision-making, memory, processing, language, dialect, learning and logic by analyzing the actions of the braing and intelligence via comprehending the dynamics of interactions between each other. In this study, accordingly with the definition of cognitive sicence, the cognitive performance of the seafarers has been evaluated under certain stressor factors such as motion sickness and anxiety during a navigation process in heavy weather conditions and in a high-density narrow waterway. All the data has been collected by utilizing a cognitive performance test capable of evaluating multiple cognitive criteria and results has been analyzed statistically. In this study, in order to be able to evaluate the cognitive performance of seafarers, an Android based software, which comprise of seven different cognitive test and which has been designed for seafarers' cognitive evaluation, named Cognitive Performance Seatest (CoPeT) has been utilized. In order to evaluate the cognitive performance of seafarers, CoPeT test has been applied as a pretest to 34 voluntary participants who have atleast 9 months of onboard experience, then, based on the literature on cognitive evaluation in maritime transportation, aviation and other transportation areas, a simulator scenario have been designed. In the scenario heavy weather conditions, increasing gradually and heavy traffic density have been applied in accordance with participants' shiphandling. After the simulator application, CoPeT test has been re-applied to the participants as a posttest to compare the results regarding stressor factors and situational awareness. Each test has various amounts of questions, which are weighted 1 point each. Completion times and scores have been recorded for each question and test individually. The results have been analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 25th version (SPSS.25). According to statistical analysis, participants' total completion times have decreased, but on their total scores no significant change has been observed. In comparison of pretest and posttests, significant success rate has been observed on attention test and increase in performance on completion of tests evaluating processing capabilities of participants. In consideration of the findings, although motion sickness and anxiety have been observed as stressor factors on participants, their stimulated conditions imporved their situational awareness; therefore their certain cognitive capabilities have increased. Finally, in this study the practicality of cognitive performance tests on seafarers and bridge operations was found valid.