Lecture
Aviation (from Lat. aves – birds) psychology (from Gr. psyche – soul + logos – study) is
the science studying the laws of the mental activity of aviation specialists under professional conditions. The subject of aviation psychology is the psyche of the aviation specialist.
The psyche is a set of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes, the latter of which are
formed over the course of a lifetime and are intended to ensure maximum adaptation of the organism to
the environment. Thus, the main content of the psyche consists of the conditioned reflexes formed in the process of life, and understanding the content of a particular person's psyche is
therefore possible through reconstructing, in chronological order, the history of the formation of conditioned reflexes. Let us emphasize that the network of conditioned reflexes, continuously (!) forming throughout (!) a person's
life, is intended to serve a single purpose – to ensure maximum
adaptation of the organism to the environment. The formation of conditioned reflexes begins from the first day of
life, and the immediate environment – primarily the parents – bears responsibility for the content of the psyche of the developing organism
. It is perfectly clear that the content of a particular person's psyche cannot be reduced to the content of another person's psyche (it is impossible to recreate exactly the same environmental conditions under whose influence conditioned reflexes are formed), but the laws to which the psyche is subject are the same for everyone,
and it is precisely by relying on knowledge of these laws that one can change the content of the psyche – that is, record new conditioned reflexes.
Regarding conditioned reflexes and the physiological function of the cerebral hemispheres, the physiologist I.P. Pavlov (1932, 1951) wrote the following: «The basic physiological function of the cerebral hemispheres throughout the entire course of individual development consists in the constant addition of countless signaling conditioned stimuli to a limited number of original unconditioned stimuli, in other words – in the constant supplementing of unconditioned reflexes with conditioned ones. Given the complexity, constant movement, and fluctuation of natural phenomena, the conditioned reflex must naturally also undergo changes, that is, be constantly corrected».
If we consider the question of the formation of the psyche in the course of evolution (from Lat. evolutio – unfolding), its development proceeded in parallel with the improvement of the nervous system
of animals. In the process of evolution, or phylogenesis (from Gr. phylē – tribe, clan, species + genos – kind),
there occurred a gradual change in the ratio of instinctive (unconditioned-reflex) and conditioned-reflex elements of the psyche toward an increasing role
of the latter. An exceptional feature of the human psyche is its representation
by several groupings – primarily consciousness and the unconscious, whose existence was masterfully demonstrated by S. Freud in his research on patients with neuroses. The name of S. Freud and his
colleague J. Breuer is associated not merely with the formation of a new direction in psychological
science known as psychoanalysis, but with a revolution in psychology. This revolution came about because the discoveries of these two scientists made it possible to treat neuroses, which until then had been considered «mysterious products of mental activity». It was they who laid the foundations of the most effective psychotherapy – psychotherapy based on establishing the cause-and-effect relationships underlying the formation of neuroses. The only competition to the work of Breuer and Freud comes from the impartial and profound research of their contemporary
– the physician-psychotherapist P. Dubois (1904, 1911, 1912).
Aviation psychology is predominantly an applied science, whose main goal
is to study the psyche of aviation specialists in order to reduce the share of aviation accidents associated with the human factor – a factor in aviation accidents that emphasizes that the occurrence of a given aviation event is conditioned by the
incorrect actions of a person, in whose place any member of the air transport system could have found themselves
(Evstigneev D.A., Karnaukhov V.A., 2005).
The main tasks of aviation psychology include the study of the following questions:
1) determining the professional fitness of aviation specialists for the job;
2) identifying the special abilities of flight and dispatch personnel;
3) the professional selection of candidates for training in aviation specialties;
4) studying the professional activity of aviation specialists in order to describe hazardous phenomena arising during aircraft control or air traffic control;
5) psychological examination of flight and dispatch personnel;
6) studying the characteristics of the mental processes of aviation specialists;
7) studying the phenomena of working capacity, fatigue, and noise/interference resistance of flight and
dispatch personnel;
8) the psychological justification of working-time norms for aviation specialists;
9) identifying, preventing, and treating psychogenic disorders in aviation specialists;
10) analyzing the errors of controllers and pilots with subsequent inclusion of the analysis materials in the reports of accident investigation commissions and other publications;
11) determining and creating psychological compatibility among aircraft crew members and among controllers in dispatch shifts;
12) adapting flight and dispatch personnel to operator work;
13) developing methodological tools necessary for resolving conflict situations in aviation groups and teams (crew, dispatch shift);
14) identifying the psychological patterns operating within the interaction of flight instructors with trainees, for subsequent use in flight training
methodology;
15) studying the ergonomic shortcomings of aircraft and control-tower/dispatch stations.
To accomplish these tasks, aviation psychology uses such methods as
observation, experiment, testing, interview, and the method of generalizing independent characteristics.
Observation is the study of a person's behavior under various conditions without any
interference in the activity of the person being studied. In terms of the nature of interaction, observation
can be participant (the observer is an active member of the group in which the observed person is located) or non-participant (the observer is detached from the observed person and does not establish direct contact with them). Open and covert observation are also distinguished: the observed person is aware of the former, but not of the latter. Covert observation
makes it possible to observe a person under natural conditions and yields a greater volume of information.
Observation should be based on identifying the needs present in the person being observed: if in a given situation we observe positive emotions in a person, this
means that some of their needs are approaching satisfaction or have already been satisfied; if we observe negative emotions, this means that needs are not being satisfied or that the probability of their satisfaction is decreasing. After this, the observer should ask: satisfaction of which specific need in the observed person led
to the emergence of positive emotions, and dissatisfaction of which specific need
led to negative emotions. Knowledge of needs is the key to understanding a person.
Tracking nonverbal information is important during observation. In
particular, one must watch for changes in a person's gaze, which above all carries truthful information about the person. To find out a person's genuine reaction to
particular information, one should look them in the eyes precisely in the first (especially the very first) seconds after the information is communicated. A person's gaze is described using a countless number of epithets: «piercing», «pensive», «detached», «languid», «indifferent», «devouring», «kind», etc. This is because there is no other way to describe a gaze. Understanding exactly what kind of gaze is directed at you
or at someone else is possible only when you have (at least once) seen the gaze
of a person who was in a particular state of mind. If you have never seen an «admiring» gaze, this epithet will not carry any substantial information for you.
Some researchers single out from observation the method of analyzing the products of activity, that is, analyzing any kind of work activity, which inevitably carries information about the psychology of the person who performed it (recordings of conversations, the position of switches during an off-nominal situation).
An experiment (from Lat. experimentum – trial, test) is a scientifically organized test involving the study of a phenomenon under precisely accounted-for conditions, according to a specific program,
which allows one to follow the course of the phenomenon and recreate it by repeating these conditions.
There are several types of experiment. A laboratory (from Lat. laborare – to work) experiment involves organizing activity under strictly specified artificial conditions. The advantages of this method include precise accounting of all the conditions of the subject's activity, as well as the ability to change the conditions of the experiment depending on
its course. The drawback of the method is that it is only an approximation of reality, a recreation of some part of it. In addition, the reliability of laboratory experiment data
largely depends on the subject's attitude toward the study as a whole and toward the experimenter
in particular (it should be noted that this rule holds true for practically all types of psychological research). A natural experiment is conducted under real (natural) conditions and allows the most accurate assessment of any psychophysiological characteristics of the aviation specialist. In the course of a training experiment, not only is the study of specific questions carried out, but also parallel training – most often training in skills for working with new technical equipment.
Testing (from Lat. test – trial, test) is a method involving the use of
various trials (test tasks) in order to identify certain mental properties,
the degree of their manifestation in different people or in the same person at particular periods of time. In all governing documents on the psychological examination of flight and
dispatch personnel, the testing method is the primary one. This is determined above all by the possibility of obtaining results quickly and with the least labor, and by their standardization: on the basis of the data obtained, the subject can be assigned to one group or another, the degree of development of a particular quality can be identified, and fitness for work in
the aviation field can be assessed. Personality-oriented tests, intellectual-ability tests, and tests identifying the span of attention and memory are used. Testing also has significant drawbacks – the reliability of the results of verbal tests (in the form of questions)
depends directly on the truthfulness of the subject's answers. In this respect, the results of
verbal tests, when they are conducted not by the subject themselves but by the experimenter carrying out professional selection on the basis of the test data, almost always fail to
carry any reliable information whatsoever, which indicates the pointlessness of using them in the practice of professional selection. Reliable information can be obtained only on condition of the subject's extreme personal interest in the results of the testing.
An interview is a dialogical method (active observation) whose purpose is to clarify a limited range of questions that are difficult to access through the ordinary (passive) form of observation. The effectiveness of the interview method depends on observing certain rules. An interview must be conducted in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere; one should eliminate
all factors that might cause states of tension, wariness, or distrust.
If the interview is a simple one, it is best to decide in advance on the content of the conversation, to draw up a plan of action, a list of questions. If, however, the interview is a psychotherapeutic one, then as a
rule no preparation is made for it, and the questions asked of the interlocutor are determined by the information
they provide (details about the rules of psychotherapeutic work can be found in the chapter
devoted to the neuroses of flight and dispatch personnel).
It should be remembered that each of the listed methods is to a certain degree subjective. In this connection the question arises of the mandatory duplication of results obtained
by different methods. The method of generalizing independent characteristics
proceeds from the premise that, in order to compile a complete description of a personality, it is necessary to combine data about the psyche obtained under different conditions of work and daily life. The generalization of
characteristics should include analysis, comparison, identification of the main points, and synthesis of the material collected.
Within aviation psychology, a whole series of methods of influence is also used – among
the most widespread of these are persuasion and suggestion. These two methods are
the most accessible when working with aviation specialists. They are used when conducting
sessions on studying the nature of the human factor in aviation.
Persuasion (rational psychotherapy) is a method of influencing the psyche that involves introducing new (necessarily well-argued) information, which enters
into interaction with a person's existing conceptions and undergoes logical
processing and critical evaluation, as a result of which new views on things, a new assessment of events, and new attitudes toward the future may arise (Svyadoshch A.M., 1971, 1982).
In this way a change is achieved in the informational significance of certain stimuli – thanks to the formation of new needs, a change is achieved in the meaning of one
or another situation. It is well known to everyone that as new information arrives in the course of our lives, we change our views on the world around us, that is, we form new
conditioned-reflex connections (new needs), which, let us recall, constitute the content of our psyche.
The effectiveness of persuasion is determined by the quality and completeness of the arguments provided.
In this connection, it is important, when conducting sessions on the fundamentals of the human factor in aviation, to draw on information about how one and the same problem is understood both by all the people making up the crew (each of them has their own particular image of the flight), and by
other categories of aviation specialists – aircraft designers and test pilots. The more fully the whole spectrum of specialists involved in the air transport system is represented, the less categorical the trainees' judgments will become, and categoricalness, as is well known, is a companion of overconfidence – a character trait that has repeatedly been the cause of aviation accidents. When using the method of persuasion, it is best to use argumentation structured so that the most standard and well-known arguments are used first, followed by increasingly
important and non-standard ones. In this way we prepare the interlocutor to trust
our information. It must also be remembered that the best effect in persuasion is achieved when we use arguments that are similar to the interlocutor's own conceptions – these provoke the least resistance.
According to the founder of the method of rational psychotherapy, P. Dubois (1911), who created
it for the treatment of psychogenic disorders, rational psychotherapy should replace the patient's incorrect conceptions with more reasonable ones (change the basis of the patient's feelings and thoughts
), and ease their difficult work of «adaptation». The author emphasizes
that this type of psychotherapy requires of the physician warmth of soul, sympathy for the patient who needs to be saved, absolute honesty in the selection of evidence, endless patience, and
great skill in applying this honest dialectic of persuasion, whether orally or in writing.
The next method of influence is suggestion – the introduction of new information that is perceived without critical evaluation (bypassing consciousness) and that influences the course
of neuropsychic processes (Svyadoshch A.M., 1971, 1982), such that new
conceptions are formed. Suggestion is impossible in the absence of semantic (meaningful) content in the message, but by no means all information will have a suggestive effect. Depending
on the manner of delivery (volume of voice, rate of speech, emotionality) of the information, its source, as well as the individual characteristics of the personality, one and the
same information will be perceived differently (Svyadoshch A.M., 1971, 1982), thereby producing
varying degrees of suggestion. Given the number of factors that
affect the outcome of suggestion, ensuring maximally effective
suggestion each time is a task that is more than difficult, and all the more so the more
the person to whom the information is addressed – the person on whom it is being used – knows about it. If a person knows
that another person wishes to change their behavior, to convey certain information to them, then
resistance to that information will inevitably arise, which is why indirect suggestion (without
direct reference to the topic at hand) is more effective than direct suggestion.
A.M. Svyadoshch (1971, 1982) explains the phenomenon of suggestion from the standpoint of his own
verification theory of suggestion. According to this theory, processes of verification (from Lat. verus – true + facere – to make) of information – that is, of determining
its reliability – take place in the human brain. The fact is that an enormous number of different (at times contradictory) signals fall upon a person, carrying information about what is happening both in the
external and in the internal environment. The most complex of these undergo logical processing and evaluation in consciousness. Most of the incoming information, in accordance with existing algorithms, undergoes automatic, unconscious evaluation for
its reliability and significance. Thanks to this, the organism, without burdening consciousness, is protected from inadequate reactions to signals that carry false, insignificant
information, or that are not relevant to it (have no direct bearing on it).
The effect of suggestion is determined by the fact that, in addition to the primary (semantic) information that constitutes the content of the suggestion, additional (verifying)
information is introduced, increasing the reliability of the primary information. The more confidently (calmly, measuredly) a person speaks, the more verifying effect their speech has. The fact
that a person is in no hurry to convey information as quickly as possible, and speaks in a measured way,
indicates two things at once: that the information has been thought through, and that there is no
fear of questions arising from the interlocutor as the message proceeds. If, on the other hand, a person speaks
quickly in a state of emotional excitement, the fast pace will no longer be perceived
negatively; on the contrary, a person who speaks emotionally (and, as a consequence, quickly)
is perceived more positively. It should be noted that speaking emotionally, passionately, does not mean fawningly. Any fawning will diminish the force of the suggestion. Loud speech will be an equally off-putting factor, since it will seem to the person that the other
is determined, no matter what, to influence them, to change their conceptions and behavior. All
this diminishes the force of the suggestion.
It should be noted that the perception of information without critical processing is characteristic
of young children and is biologically appropriate at that age (Svyadoshch A.M., 1971,
1982). Suggestibility in adults is heightened when a message is unexpected and in cases of undeveloped (or weakened) critical faculties: in asthenia (loss of strength), narrowing of
consciousness, and hypnotic states. In this connection, suggestibility is often heightened
in those suffering from somatic (bodily) and mental disorders, as well as in those in a state of affect.
Regarding the nature of suggestion, the following should be known. The degree of suggestibility is
determined above all by the degree of dependence on a person (dependence on a person is determined by the fact that the satisfaction of certain of our needs is connected with them): the
greater the dependence, the stronger the suggestibility. From a person on whom the satisfaction of our needs depends, from communicating with whom we experience positive emotions,
we readily adopt practically everything that comes from them – we easily become infected with their
emotions (that is, we are characterized by heightened suggestibility). The mechanism of emotional
contagion is one of the mechanisms determining suggestibility, and it will be discussed separately
in the chapter devoted to psychotherapeutic rules and their implementation in the process of
communication.
The suggestive influence will depend on the person's existing conceptions: a person who has a pronounced sense of duty and takes a responsible attitude toward their work can quite easily be made to accept the notion that, for such a violation of
work procedure as, for example, overloading an aircraft, the crew who allowed this
bears responsibility for the lives of another crew as well – a crew that will fly this same aircraft and know nothing about the fact that the aircraft was previously overloaded (the deformations that arose after the overload may affect the condition of the aircraft in
special flight situations and lead to irreparable consequences – up to and including the destruction
of the aircraft in the air). Information of this kind should be reinforced by the testimony of a large number of aviation specialists, in particular designers, as well as test pilots, who, in order to thoroughly study the capabilities of aircraft, deliberately operate them under extreme conditions – in order to determine how the
equipment will behave under extreme conditions.
Direct and indirect suggestion are distinguished. Indirect suggestion often has a gréater
effect than direct suggestion. This is because, in the case of indirect suggestion, the information encounters
less resistance, not being overtly directed at the listener. Thus, when using the method of suggestion, it is important to take into account the person's experience and their existing conceptions,
and to try to construct the suggestion so that it encounters less resistance on their part. The essence of indirect suggestion can easily be demonstrated by the following example. We constantly evaluate the actions of those around us. Now, in every evaluation we make of another person, we
involuntarily (indirectly) convey information about ourselves: if we give some person a negative
evaluation, condemn them, we position ourselves as a person possessing the opposite (in this case, positive) qualities, and so our interlocutor,
with whom we share our evaluation of the other person, forms corresponding conceptions about us – we have indirectly introduced information that we possess qualities opposite to those
negative ones possessed by the person we are evaluating.
More specialized methods of influence include various kinds of psychotherapeutic techniques – namely causal, pathogenetic, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. These
methods of influence are most often applied within the framework of the CRM program (crew
resource management – the optimization of activity within a crew) or in individual counseling of aviation specialists. A description of these methods of influence will be given in the chapter
devoted to the neuroses of flight and dispatch personnel.
1. Are there, in aviation psychology, special research methods that differ from those of other psychological disciplines?
2. Identify the methods of aviation psychology which, in your opinion, allow the largest
volume of information to be obtained?
3. Which of the tasks of aviation psychology, in your view, are the most difficult to accomplish?
4. Determine whether it is easier for you to convey information to an interlocutor by the method of suggestion or persuasion, and also
ask yourself why it is easier for you to use one method or the other.
5. In what way are A.M. Svyadoshch's verification theory of suggestion and the conditioned-reflex nature of the human psyche related to each other?
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