Plain English Meaning
Catching yourself thinking in a way that pushes you toward a risky choice, naming which kind of unsafe thinking it is, and replacing it with a safer thought before you act on it.
Full Definition
The skill of identifying, in oneself, the presence of any of the five hazardous thought patterns (anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation) that lead pilots toward unsafe decisions, so that each can be countered with its specific antidote before it influences action.
Context Anchor
Used in flight training, preflight decision-making, scenario discussions, and postflight debriefs when evaluating why a pilot made or nearly made an unsafe choice.
Derivation
Recognizing comes from older words meaning to know again or . Hazardous means involving danger or . originally referred to a posture or , and in this context it means a mental posture: the way a pilot is thinking about a .