Making information behavior explicit in situation awareness

Abstract Situation awareness is fundamental to effective decision making in dynamic, uncertain, and information‐rich environments. While Endsley's three‐level situation awareness model introduced in 1995 defines the functions of perception, comprehension, and projection, the recurring information behaviors through which awareness is developed, maintained, and revised remain comparatively underspecified. This paper develops a conceptual framework integrating situation awareness and information behavior theories. The framework identifies and links triggers, information behaviors, evaluative judgments, and outcomes through four recurring mechanisms that explain how actors recognize information deficiencies, engage with and evaluate information, revise understanding, and determine whether understanding is sufficient for action. The framework extends existing situation awareness models by providing greater behavioral specificity while retaining Endsley's recursive conception of situation awareness. Six theoretical propositions are derived from the framework to guide future empirical research, and the framework identifies implications for communication and information systems. Collectively, the paper provides a more behaviorally grounded explanation of how situation awareness is maintained and revised in complex socio‐technical environments.