Definition
A decision-making method in which an experienced person quickly recognizes a situation as similar to ones they have encountered before and acts on a course of action that has worked in those past situations, rather than systematically comparing multiple options.
Plain English
Making a decision by recognizing the situation from past experience and going with what has worked before, instead of weighing several choices side by side.
Context Anchor
Seen in aeronautical decision-making discussions, especially when talking about time pressure, emergencies, abnormal situations, and decisions made from experience.
Derivation
From 'recognition' (to know again, from Latin recognoscere) and 'primed' (prepared in advance). The name reflects the idea that prior experience 'primes' a pilot to recognize a familiar pattern and respond to it.
Why Pilots Care
It accounts for how experienced pilots reach sound decisions rapidly in time-critical cockpit situations without comparing every possible option.
Analogy
It is like a driver who sees brake lights ahead, recognizes traffic is stopping, eases off the gas, and checks the mirrors before braking. The driver is not guessing; the familiar pattern points to a likely safe action.
Grounding Statement
In a fast-moving cockpit problem, this is the moment a pilot thinks, “I have seen this pattern before,” chooses the familiar safe response, and checks that it fits before acting.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a wild guess or a snap reaction. A recognition-primed decision is based on recognizing a familiar pattern and doing a quick reasonableness check before acting.
Example Sentence 1
When the engine started running rough, the experienced pilot immediately applied carburetor heat, using a recognition-primed decision based on similar situations from past flights.
Example Sentence 2
In the simulator the instructor praised the student's recognition-primed decision after the student spotted the developing icing condition and immediately requested a lower altitude.