Behavior-orientated Assessment of Interpersonal Skills in Pilot Selection Concepts, Methods and Empirical Findings

Abstract

Problems of crew coordination in the cockpit have been identified as one major cause for accidents and incidents in civil aviation. These problems include, e.g. inadequate leadership, lack of delegating tasks, deficient communication of plans and intentions. Crew resource management trainings have been developed and consequently been implemented in pilot training syllabi in many major airlines. However, the effects of such trainings can be reinforced if the basic personality traits and interpersonal skills of the pilots are already in tune with the demands for effective teamwork. This could be achieved for example by filtering pilots and pilot-candidates with appropriate diagnostic instruments before they enter commercial aviation. Compared to traditional aptitude tests, personality tests still have some methodological weaknesses in terms of psychometric criteria. Based on prior research (e.g. Chidester et al., 1991, Hormann & Maschke, 1996), the DLR has started to develop specific test-methods for examining interpersonal skills of pilots. These methods are related to what is called assessment center methods in industrial settings. Usually, the term assessment center (AC) is used to describe a process by which an individual or a group of individuals is observed and assessed by a team of trained judges during different exercises like role-plays, problem-solving tasks in groups or in simulated job tasks. After two years of experience with these methods in the selection of pilot -candidates for Lufthansa German Airlines, a first review about the development, concepts and initial empirical findings is given in the following.

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