What is Knowledge Based performance?

• A. High degree of familiarity, low attention
• B. Unfamiliar situation has a 1:10 chance of making a mistake
• C. Less familiar with task, he pays closer attention
• D. Routine tasks with formal procedures

Answer: (B)

Knowledge-based performance happens when the situation isn’t routine and you must reason through the problem using your knowledge to decide what to do. In unfamiliar scenarios, you can’t rely on practiced rules or reflexive steps, so you analyze, plan, and problem-solve. That process inherently carries a higher chance of mistakes because you’re applying knowledge to a new situation rather than following a simple, stored procedure. The statement about an unfamiliar situation having a real chance of making a mistake captures this dynamic, which is why it best represents knowledge-based performance. The other descriptions describe more automatic or routine work (high familiarity with little attention), routine tasks governed by procedures, or just heightened attention in a less familiar task, none of which emphasize the problem-solving aspect and error potential that characterizes knowledge-based performance.