Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

City

Dayton

Abstract

In aviation education and training, students experience a number of tests to determine their technical abilities and theoretical knowledge. When piloting an aircraft, many stage checks and examinations must be completed before a license is issued. Even then, the testing does not stop; pilots in commercial aviation are subject to a whole range of periodic checks in simulators and in the air. During these evaluations, shortcomings in technical abilities can be identified and corrective action taken before retesting. However, during testing, candidates are especially careful to minimize any tendencies they may have under normal circumstances to, for example, make a short cut in a checklist. Hazardous thought patterns are unlikely to surface under test conditions. In the past, numerous personality tests have been administered to pilots in attempts to determine the likelihood of success. Conversely, very few studies have been done to use such tests to attempt to determine the likelihood of failure or, even further, to determine the most likely type of failure. This paper discusses the possibility of using a personality type preference assessment (Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)) to determine the most likely type preferences conducive to failure (e.g. impulsiveness) of individuals and using the information to develop interventions at an early stage in training.


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