Awareness Color Code
Vanderbilt University 2017
Applied Behavioral Science EngM 2440
Birdsong, Jordan, Pence, Rowe
Awareness comes at a price
• You cannot stay at a high level of alert (fight or
flight) for very long
• Awareness color code is simply a way of
identifying different states
• You should be cognizant of levels of awareness
and adjust
Different states
White
Relaxed - calm
Yellow
Beginning to focus - alert
Orange
Becoming concerned anxious
Red
Fight or flight – High stress
Black
Life or death – extreme
stress
Different states
White
Yellow
Kicking back watching TV
You hear an argument in the
apartment next door – female
friend is yelling
Different states
Orange
You hear dishes being
thrown and you hear loud
male cursing – you call the
police
Different states
Red
You hear your friend calling
for help and you look out and
see your friend flung out the
apartment door – you grab a
baseball bat
Different states
Black
You run to stand between
your friend and a man
coming out with balled fists
White
Different states
Yellow
What state are you in just
listening to these
situations? Relaxed? –
Alert?
Alarmed? Past
experience?
Orange
Red
Black
White
Different states
Yellow
Can a movie or book
change your awareness
state? Have you ever felt
totally drained after an
emotionally stressful
incident?
Orange
Red
Black
You cannot stay in red or
black awareness states
long or your body just
shuts down.
White
Different states
Yellow
Have you ever been in a
class where you are really
into the topic and
suddenly you are
tremendously sleepy?
Orange
Red
Black
You cannot stay in red or
black awareness states
long or your body just
shuts down.
Tips to apply this knowledge
• Whenever working with employees and
coworkers – prepare short depressurization
videos or breaks to let them calm themselves
• They will get very emotional over new policies
and procedures that affect their vacation,
pension, hours and shifts. Prepare for a
depressurization period wherever a situation
is emotionally charged.
Tips to apply this knowledge
• Key fact: You cannot perform fine motor skills
when your heart rate is over 135 bpm
(example: writing after an accident)
• Lower employees heartrates from emotional
issues so they can perfrom daily activities.
• Gross motor skills (less than three simple
movements) when heart rate is high so
excitement for whatever reason could cause
injuries
Tips to apply this knowledge
• Never use humor – use breaks when serious
topics discussed
• Humor rarely translates across cultures.
• Use distraction – change the topic
• Talk about it privately
From Tactical Awareness – Ken Pence 2012