Simulators have compared with real systems the advantage of offering a
greater range of scenarios which are easier to realize, record and reproduce, furthermore
they can be interrupted at any time without problems. Critical sequences or rare events
can be repeated as often as necessary without any danger to people, the environment or
equipment. Therefore, simulation is a ecological means of offering a very time and cost
effective training, when theoretical knowledge should be applied to solve practical
problems.
In all industries in which human beings have to monitor and control
complex systems (chemical industry, nuclear power plants, aviation, shipping) simulators
are operated to train their personnel in stressing situations as well as in complicated,
sensitive or rare situations.
This is also the reason why worldwide a huge variety of marine
simulators is operated by all different kind of maritime training, education and research
institutions.
4. Potential Areas of Psychological Research
Until now marine simulators have been hardly used to create
experimental setups in order to explore systematically any kind of human factor problem by
means of psychological instruments such as observation, interview, questionnaire, tests,
etc.
Among those areas of psychological research which are interesting to be
studied under experimental conditions in a marine simulator the following three should be
mentioned as examples.
4.1 Human Error Research
The central methodological problem in all efforts of tracing back the
reasons and causes of
