Aviation Selection Research Articles

Common practices of psychological selection of aviation personnel in Europe

Introduction. The EAAP Working Group on Psychological Selection has issued a report on best practices in the selection of aviation personnel in 2022. All EAAP members and partners who are currently involved in selection work were invited to give their inputs via an online survey distributed in 2020. Research question. The purpose of this survey was to investigate the current practices in selection of aviation personnel primarily in Europe. Method. A total of N=83 participants responded to this survey, which equals a response rate of 16 to 20%. Results. The results will be presented in two ways: Firstly, it will be shown how selection procedures are organized in general with commonly used selection methods and immersive technologies also presented. Secondly, comparative frequency charts of different selection criteria will be shown for civilian pilots, military pilots, ATCOs and cabin crews. Discussion. The findings are discussed with reference to previous industry surveys to infer the current state of scientific rigour in aviation selection. Conclusion. Opportunities for growth and potential shortcomings will be discussed.

Spatial Ability Stress Test for Screening and Selection: The Development of SCOUT-R

Spatial abilities are often predictive of occupational success. Specifically, they are thought to play a role in aviator success and thus, are evaluated in Naval and Air Force aviation selection. However, the selection process only includes a single assessment of spatial ability which recent findings have called into question its validity. The creation of a speeded spatial ability stress test with face validity for the Navy and Marine Corps aviation community was investigated. We developed SCOUT-R, a multitask environment where participants quickly discriminated target objects from distractors, all of which could appear in any 90° orientation. The results showed the speeded presentation affected subjective workload and task strategy; however, target discrimination improved as the speed of presentation increased. The implications for SCOUT-R as a spatial ability selection test are considered.

Updating the Direction Orientation Task: An Aviation Selection Tool

Military branches rely on selection and placement testing to help identify individuals who will be well-suited for jobs that they likely have little exposure to or experience with. The goal for this research was to update the Direction Orientation Task (DOT), which is used by both the United States Navy and Air Force as part of their aviation selection batteries. The current version of DOT has limitations such as ceiling effects in some populations and a restriction of range within test scores. We created a new version (DOT2) that attempted to increase the difficulty and variance of the test (among other things discussed in the paper). Ninety-five student Naval Aviators completed an experiment where they completed DOT1, DOT2, and the operation span. Results showed that DOT2 was significantly more difficult and had increased variance compared to DOT1. Scores on DOT1 were highly related to scores on DOT2, both were similarly unrelated to scores the operation span, and both were similarly related to the number of math errors made on the operation span. These preliminary data suggest that DOT2 may be a viable upgrade to DOT1.

Low Cost Eye Tracking: Ready for Individual Differences Research?

The recent availability of low cost of eye tracking hardware provides researchers a fruitful opportunity to collect additional human subject data for under $700. This current study sought to investigate whether low-cost eye tracking is capable of replicating a large effect showing a relationship between resting pupil size and working memory capacity. Seventy-nine Navy and Marine Corps student pilots participated in this study and granted access to their aviation selection test scores. The study demonstrated the capability of the Gazepoint GP3 system to detect the pupillary light reflex within every participant. However, in contrast to findings from other researchers, analyses revealed a negative correlation between resting pupil size and partial Operation Span scores and no correlation between resting pupil size and two cognitive components of the aviation selection test. These findings, in addition to other reasons discussed herein, suggest that the Gazepoint GP3 system’s millimeter pupil size measurements should not be used in isolation to compare values between individuals. They also suggest the need for further investigation of the relationship between baseline pupil size and working memory capacity.

Pupil Diameter and Performance in a Supervisory Control Task: A Measure of Effort or Individual Differences?

The relationship between increased pupil diameter and effort has been well established within the Psychology literature since the 1960s. The ability to detect an individuals’ effort is important, particularly in tasks where there are extended periods of monitoring, and limited ways to directly measure performance. The current study sought to investigate whether pupil diameter could be used to detect periods of high and low workload during an unmanned vehicle supervisory control task. Participants were Navy and Marine Corps student pilots, and the experimenters had access to their aviation selection test scores. The study found increased pupil diameters when the task load increased. In addition, pupil diameter during the high task load condition was significantly correlated with the individual’s performance on the supervisory control task. This paper discusses two possible explanations for this finding: 1) that those individuals who performed better on the task were trying harder or, 2) that pupil diameter was capturing differences in general fluid intelligence which influenced task performance. Previous research has shown that differences in an individual’s working memory capacity are correlated with pupil diameter at rest. Further the significant correlation between pupil diameter and the pilot’s selection test scores in this study provide additional evidence that pupil diameter may be capturing individual differences.

Meta-Analysis of Personality Assessments as Predictors of Military Aviation Training Success

Results from a meta-analysis of studies using personality constructs to predict military aviation training outcomes are reported. From the 26 studies that reported effects of personality as predictors of aviation training outcome, the constructs of neuroticism (K = 7), extroversion (K = 8), and anxiety (K = 4) appeared most frequently. Meta-analysis effects were derived using both random effects and artifact distribution model. Uncorrected effects from the random effects model produced the largest mean effect for neuroticism (r meta = −.15), followed by extroversion (r meta = .13), and anxiety (r meta = −.11). Corrections for predictor reliability and range restriction produced the greatest increase in the validity coefficient for neuroticism (rcorr = −.25), implying more psychometrically reliable and sensitive instruments could substantially improve the predictive validity of personality assessments in aviation selection contexts. The results confirmed the hypothesis that neuroticism and its facet anxiety would be negatively related to training success, and that extroversion would share a positive relationship with training success in military aviation.

Identifying Blood Biomarkers and Physiological Processes That Distinguish Humans with Superior Performance under Psychological Stress

BackgroundAttrition of students from aviation training is a serious financial and operational concern for the U.S. Navy. Each late stage navy aviator training failure costs the taxpayer over $1,000,000 and ultimately results in decreased operational readiness of the fleet. Currently, potential aviators are selected based on the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB), which is a series of multiple-choice tests that evaluate basic and aviation-related knowledge and ability. However, the ASTB does not evaluate a person's response to stress. This is important because operating sophisticated aircraft demands exceptional performance and causes high psychological stress. Some people are more resistant to this type of stress, and consequently better able to cope with the demands of naval aviation, than others.Methodology/Principal FindingsAlthough many psychological studies have examined psychological stress resistance none have taken advantage of the human genome sequence. Here we use high-throughput -omic biology methods and a novel statistical data normalization method to identify plasma proteins associated with human performance under psychological stress. We identified proteins involved in four basic physiological processes: innate immunity, cardiac function, coagulation and plasma lipid physiology.Conclusions/SignificanceThe proteins identified here further elucidate the physiological response to psychological stress and suggest a hypothesis that stress-susceptible pilots may be more prone to shock. This work also provides potential biomarkers for screening humans for capability of superior performance under stress.

Helicopter Mishap Attributed to Single Scizure

A case report is presented of a 36-year-old U.S. Coast Guard aviator who had a single seizure while operating a helicopter on the ground. His seizure activity produced a loss of consciousness during which he pushed the cyclic to the left anterior quadrant that resulted in a ground mishap. No risk factors were identified in an extensive neurological workup. The current guidance for handling seizures in military aviation personnel is reviewed, along with considerations for treatment. Although the military aviation selection process carefully screens applicants for seizure history and potential, occasional seizures in the aviation population remain possible. Such events may result in military aircraft mishaps despite careful risk factor surveillance, as demonstrated by this case.

The Automatic Pilot Examination (APEX): The Navy's online testing system for selecting Naval Aviators

The Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) is used to select Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard Aviators. The Navy has made great efforts to improve the convenience, security, and ease at which the test can be administered. One of the most recent improvements has been the development of the Automatic Pilot Examination (APEX) system. This is an online delivery system for the ASTB. This system not only provides secure testing, it provides database management, data lookup, and official applicant score letters to recruiters and selection sites around the world. The intent of this paper and the corresponding demonstration is to showcase the Navy's current advances in online aviation selection testing, with particular emphasis on the APEX delivery system and the new psycho-motor test.

The Biographical Inventory in Naval Aviation Selection: Inside the Black Box

A biographical inventory has been used in the selection of students for naval aviation training since World War II, and its validity in predicting their retention in this training has been well established. This study investigated the constructs underlying the inventory and their relations to student retention criteria. A factor analysis of the items on the inventory for student pilots identified five factors. One factor, being a commissioned officer, appeared to account for the inventory's validity.

An Automated Test Battery for Advanced Aviator Assessment

A study was conducted to determine whether a number of computerized tests would add new variance to a paper-and-pencil selection battery, the U.S. Navy's Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB). The computerized tests came from three different domains: 1) cognitive tests; 2) temporal acuity (visual temporal information processing) tests; and 3) psychomotor tests including video games. These tests were all written in “C” and had been validated against simulated aviation and space shuttle landing tasks. Data were collected on 120 aviation candidates. Analyses indicated that: a) Tests in the new automated battery were generally of adequate to high reliability; b) Correlations between the automated battery and ASTB variables were, with a few exceptions, not large but in the expected directions, suggesting that tests in the automated battery do not duplicate the variance measured by the ASTB, and could thus potentially augment the predictive power of the ASTB; and c) Relationships among the Spatial Apperception Test (SAT) of the ATSB and several of the temporal acuity tests indicate that temporal factors may be involved in SAT performance. At the same time, there is considerable reliable variance unique to each domain, again implying the potential for augmentation of the ASTB by measures from the automated battery.

Predicting Military Flight Training Success by a Compensatory Tracking Task

This study evaluated the validity of a compensatory tracking task for pre- dicting success in naval flight training. Its purpose was to determine if psychomotor test scores would add unique variance to the current aviation selection model. Aviation candidates (N = 187) admitted on the basis of current selection test scores were administered a 20-min computer-based tracking task before beginning flight training. Performance on the task was compared with flight training outcomes as measured by passlfailure and cu- mulative flight grade. The results indicated that the tracking task scores differentiated candidates who completed training from those who failed. Multiple regression analyses confirmed that the tracking task scores added unique variance to the current selection model.

Personality and Flight Training Performance

Current naval aircrew selection research typically focuses on psychomotor and cognitive abilities, but evidence from flight training attrition studies suggests that many failures may be due to personality/motivational factors. This study concerns the relationships found between elements of primary flight training performance and the results of two automated personality assessment instruments: a risk test and a pilot personality questionnaire. Both risk test measures correlated significantly with a simple pass/fail index but not with actual flight grades for either student pilots or flight officers. Several of the pilot personality scales correlated significantly with various flight training criteria but many of these were also not orthogonal to measures of the current Navy/Marine Corps aviation selection test battery, while both risk test measures were.

Use of a Behavior-Based Personality Instrument in Aviation Selection

This study evaluated a behavioral-based personality instrument currently used by a branch of the United States Armed Forces in their experimental aviation selection battery. The instrument, the Dot Estimation Task (DOT), was designed to measure compulsiveness versus decisiveness. The reliability and validity of this experimental instrument was evaluated. One hundred and fifty three university undergraduate students were administered the DOT and either of two paper-and-pencil compulsivity instruments in a counterbalanced design. Four weeks later, 90 subjects were retested on the DOT and the alternate compulsivity instrument. The results indicate that the DOT has a test-retest reliability of .64 but has no relationship to either compulsivity measure.