Perceived Affective Qualities in Flight Deck Design

Abstract

Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) practices in aviation generally focus on the system’s functional features like human performance, human error, workload, and situation awareness, without considering the emotional aspects of the interaction. However, there is a shift from a cognitive perspective to an affective one, which concerns promoting pleasure instead of just preventing design deficiencies. While traditional human factors have focused on efficiency, usability, and safety, emerging approaches have also focused on product experience. There has been a growing interest in affect and pleasure in such areas as engineering design, psychology, neuroscience, human factors, and industrial design. This study aims to transfer these emerging approaches into aviation by determining the perceived affective qualities in a flight deck design. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with pilots by using the Repertory Grid Technique with Laddering Technique to elucidate how pilots experience a flight deck design. According to the results, 33 constructs were determined which show the qualities of attributes produced by flight deck and the affective states of pilots when these qualities are provided.