Assessment of Psychological Factors in Aviators.

Abstract

Abstract : Improving our understanding of the psychological makeup of male and female pilots is the objective of Assessment of Psychological Factors in Aviators. Of particular interest are the stressors of mixed gender squadrons and psychological concerns related to combat and deployment. Judgment, cognitive abilities, personality traits, and crew resource management skills are gauged with the testing battery. The battery consists of four psychological tests and requires two hours to complete. The semi-structured clinical interview provides information about health, and career/deployment stressors and requires 30-45 minutes to complete. Male and female pilot volunteers from AMC and AETC participated in the study. Volunteers came from Travis, Charleston, McConnell, Randolph, McChord, Dover, Fairchild, and McGuire AFB's, as well as the Air Force Academy. 64 male pilots and 50 female pilots volunteered at these bases; for a total of 114 volunteers. The study was completely voluntary and anonymous. To maintain this anonymity we are unable to provide any individual's or unit's test results. All data generated will be reported as group data. IQ testing revealed no significant differences between men and women and personality testing showed greater extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness in women. The interview elicited 27 significantly different responses out of 323. These differences could be important for policy making and training.