Abstract
In many occupations individuals need to remember to deviate from routine in order to perform intended actions, and a failure to do so can be catastrophic. The effectiveness of two memory aids was examined in an air traffic control simulation. After training on the air traffic control simulation, participants were instructed to press an alternative response key instead of a routine response key when accepting target aircraft into their sector. One type of memory aid presented this instruction constantly on the display screen. Despite this, individuals failed to deviate from routine just as often as when no such memory aid were available. A second memory aid was designed to pulsate (flash) at the time deviation from routine was required. This memory aid improved prospective memory performance. Implications for the design of memory aids for occupations where individuals monitor dynamic multi-item display screens are discussed.