Visual Perception and Memory Flashcards
6 cards from real FEAST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Visual Perception and Memory flashcards as text
On a radar display, a primary radar return (skin paint) appears without an associated secondary radar return (transponder). This most likely indicates:
Answer: An aircraft with a non-functional or switched-off transponder
A primary return without secondary return typically indicates either a transponder failure, switched-off transponder, or an unequipped aircraft — requiring closer monitoring and potential coordination.
A controller looks at a radar scope and must compare the current positions of 6 aircraft with their positions from 30 seconds ago. The mental skill primarily required is:
Answer: Visual working memory — holding the previous positions in memory and comparing with current positions
Comparing current and previous positions requires holding the earlier positions in visual working memory while simultaneously viewing current positions.
On a radar display, three aircraft are in a line between positions A and B. Aircraft 1 is at A, Aircraft 2 is at midpoint, Aircraft 3 is at B. Which is the most visually salient cue that aircraft 2 is at risk of being involved in a conflict?
Answer: Aircraft 2 is between two other tracks — geometrically constrained with nowhere to manoeuvre without conflicting with one of the others
Being geometrically sandwiched between two other aircraft limits manoeuvre options and increases conflict risk — this is a visual-spatial reasoning element requiring 3D track awareness.
A radar display uses colour coding: green = normal, amber = alert, red = critical. A controller working in a dimly lit operations room suddenly sees a red track. The most likely visual processing pathway that allows fastest detection of this red track among green tracks is:
Answer: Pre-attentive feature detection — colour is processed in parallel across the visual field without requiring focused attention
Colour is a pre-attentive visual feature — it pops out automatically in parallel visual processing, allowing immediate detection without serial search.
A controller has been monitoring a radar display for 30 minutes. A new aircraft track appears that differs from the established traffic pattern. Despite the difference, the controller takes 15 seconds to notice the new track. This delay is most consistent with:
Answer: Change blindness — the failure to notice changes in a complex visual scene when attention is not focused on the changing element
Change blindness is a well-documented phenomenon where changes in a complex scene go undetected unless attention is specifically directed to the changing element.
Pattern recognition in ATC visual perception means:
Answer: The ability to rapidly match observed radar display configurations to familiar traffic patterns from training and experience
ATC pattern recognition involves rapidly comparing current display configurations to stored templates of known traffic patterns, enabling faster situation assessment than item-by-item analysis.