Aviation and Operational
Psychology: Applications
Alan Ogle, Maj, USAF, BSC
Military Psychology PSY4990
University of West Florida, Spring 09

Disclaimer: information in this briefing was compiled from
multiple sources in the US military medical services. Many have
been modified or shortened to fit the educational purpose, format
and training time available. Views expressed are those of the
author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the
United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S.
Government.
As Seen
By...
31 Jan 01
Behavioral Health in
Aviation
Human Factors in
Aviation
The Role of Behavioral Health:
What’s needed?

Flight Surgeons want input on cases
• Evaluations, recommendations, tx, summary

Commanders want input on situations
• Crew rest, human factors


Commanders want input on individuals
Individuals want information/education
• Kids’ development, relationships, etc.
Consultation

Consult with commanders, safety
officers, and flight surgeons
• Human factors affecting readiness,
safety, performance, and retention

Provide Psycho-education
• Stress & Fatigue, human factors, etc.

Survey unit stress, morale and
cohesion and provide feedback to
command
We offer more than this…
Selection: Necessary Pilot
Abilities

Psychomotor (stick & rudder)

Judgment and decision making

Attention

Memory

Prioritization of tasks

Cockpit communication
WWII Psychomotor Test
Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Complex Coordination Test
Pilot Candidate Selection Method
Paper-and-pencil
AFOQT
Basic Attributes Test
Previous Flying
Experience
+
•g
•Verbal
•Math
•Spatial
•Aircrew Interest/
Knowledge
•Perceptual Speed
+
•Psychomotor
•Cognitive
•Attitudes
NEO-Personality InventoryRevised
(NEO-PI-R)





Neuroticism (N) - Level of emotional stability
Extraversion (E)- Sociability, assertiveness, activity
Openness (to experience; O) - Imagination, aesthetic
sensitivity, attentiveness to inner feelings, preference for
variety, intellectual curiosity, independence of judgment
Agreeableness (A) - Altruism, sympathetic to others and
eagerness to help, belief that others will be sympathetic
Conscientiousness (C) - Self-control, determination
Personality patterns of USAF flight students,
experienced Army pilots, and elite soldiers
compared to general population
USAF Student Pilots
Retzlaff and Gibertini, 1987

3 distinct personality clusters (MCMI
and PRF)
• aggressive, dominant, exhibitionistic,
self-aggrandizing (21% right stuff)
• achievement oriented, dominant,
affiliative, high endurance and order,
low aggression (58% typical stuff)
• high harm avoidance, low achievement,
dominance, exhibition, affiliation, and
change (21% wrong stuff)
Summary of Pilot Personality Patterns

Military pilots are:
• more achievement-oriented, outgoing, active,
competitive, dominant, and
• less introspective, emotionally sensitive, and
self-effacing than their non-flying counterparts


Pilots are more like each other than their
referent group; holds for gender as well
Female pilots differ from male pilots
mainly on the domain of openness to
experience
Marital/Family Role Conflicts
Pilots/Aircrew
• Soldier/Warrior vs Husband/Father
Somatization of emotions
 Denial/minimization of difficulties
 Not sharing emotionally difficult experiences

• Work pressures vs. Home pressures
• Unrealistic expectations of self and spouse
Role Conflicts
Female Pilots
• Tend to get married later in life
• Often married to another military
member
• Potential for unequal distribution of
domestic tasks related to
parenting/child care
• Perception they may have to work
harder at times to earn same scores
Role Conflicts
Aircrew Spouse
• Military spouse vs. independent lifestyle
• Spouse’s perception of the risk vs. reward
of occupational hazards
• Spouse’s support of pilot’s role in the war
• Spouse’s support/ability to serves as a
single parent during TDYs and deployment
• Competing for time w/ unit friends/social
activities
Communication Difficulties
Pilots/Aircrew
• Problem & fact focused
• Check-list approach to conflict
• Difficulty attending to & identifying emotion
• Emotions expressed are usually anger &
frustration
• Generally avoid or withdraw from discussing
emotions
Communication Difficulties
Spouse
• Spouse may have to make extreme
efforts to raise awareness to problem
• Pilot speak to wife as a subordinate or
co-worker
• Competitive approach to conflict
• Judgmental, critical, patronizing
approach
• Minimizes spouses stressors or needs
Psychological Assessment and
Treatment



Evaluate crew members referred by
command and/or flight surgeon
Evaluate, monitor, and protect aircrew
from psychological stresses of flight
environment
Treat aircrew members
•
•
•
•
Substance Abuse
Adjustment Disorders
Fear of Flying
Stress Management
Education

Safety Stand-Down Days
• Stress and Fatigue briefings
• Suicide prevention briefings
• Other topics as relevant or requested

Educating “in the hangar”
• Parenting, relationships, hypothetically…
• “My 13-year-old is…..Is that normal?”
• “Is it normal for……”
Mishap Investigation
Human Factors
Stress
 Fatigue
 Physical considerations
 Equipment
 Environments

Performance Under
“Stress”

Attention
• Perceptual tunneling
• Cognitive tunneling – narrowing mental
clarity or comprehension (missed radio call)
• Task shedding – entire tasks abandoned

Psychomotor
• Decreased tracking abilities
Performance Under “Stress”

Memory
• Memory Capacity Declines (Short-term memory)
• Memory Strategies Compromised
Over Simplification
 Speed/Accuracy Tradeoff

• New Learning Declines – Stress Related
Regression
Performance Under “Stress”

Judgment/Decision Making

Communication
• Speech production (articulation, pitch,
syntax)
• Comprehension
• Group Think
Impact of Fatigue in the
Cockpit

Reaction time increases
• Errors in timing and accuracy
• Not as smooth
• Slow and irregular motor inputs

Attention is reduced
• Lapse or “microsleeps”
• Tunneling
• Need enhanced stimuli
• Reduced audio-visual scan
Impact of Fatigue in the
Cockpit

Diminished memory
• Recall declines
• Learning declines

Greater tolerance for error
• Overall poor and careless performance

Impaired communication,
cooperation, and crew coordination
• Repetitive and fragmented conversations
• Misinterpretations
Human Factors Analysis and
Classification System (HFACS)
Organizational Influences
Flying Hour Program.
n Optempo issues.
n
Unsafe Supervisory Practices
Failed to Correct a Known Problem.
n Integrate Risk Management into Avn
Opns..
n
Preconditions for Unsafe Acts
CRM training.
n Support Failure.
n
of opportunity for
the soldier to fail.
Unsafe Actions
Failure to Follow
Procedure.
n Failure to practice
Procedures.
n
Accident

A-B-C’s
Final Approach
Typical Mishap Perception
Loss of SA
A-B-C’s

Mishap Reality
Final Approach
Problems
Missed Local Condition Call
Marital
Missed Suspense
24 hour
days
Newborn
Weather
SOS
Trying to finish Masters Degree
Airlines are hiring
Increased OPs Tempo
Reprimanded a Crew Member
Anxious
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
It’s not what you might think.
Williams, Picano, Roland & Banks:
Psychologists who understand strategic and tactical
intelligence processes use direct and indirect assessment
to:
•
•
•
understand enemy personalities and intentions
facilitate intelligence operations
assessment and selection for special and high-risk missions
May also provide operationally focused mental health
support
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
Staal and Stephenson:
It is NOT a reflection of where a psychologist provides
services, (such as on a ship, in the field, etc.)
•
Paradigm shift – some core competencies-operational
psychology as an intelligence function vice a medical
function
•
Involves psychological consultation to military
commanders in order to improve operational decision
making in combat or military operations
•
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
Dial-Ward:
Operational Psychology is:
Consultative activities of military and government
psychologists who directly support national security
missions facilitating intelligence, counterintelligence,
counterterrorism, and sensitive military special
operations.
•
Involves skills from clinical, forensic, organizational, and
consulting psychology, among others
•
Requires sophisticated understanding of the
organizational consumer’s missions and legal authorities.
•
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
Core Competencies of Operational Psychologists
(1) Direct and Indirect Assessment
Consumer – Strategic decision makers (agents, operators,
commanders, mission planners, analysts)
Methods - Direct contact, or covert observation, surveillance
records, third party reports, or other records
Subjects - Trainees, agents, sources, assets, adversarial targets
or others who may or may not be US citizens
Purpose - Suitability for missions, strategy for interacting with
subject/group, recommendations for training, addressing specific
problems in relationship with subject, assessment of threat or
risk posed by subject
- Security and Counterespionage Consultation
- Support to Interrogation Operations
- Assessment and Selection
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
Core Competencies (cont.)
(2) Direct Support to Realistic, High Stress Training
• Assessing student and instructor suitability
• Recommendations regarding optimal learning
• Risk-management oversight
• Teaching relevant blocks of instruction
• SERE Certification by JPRA
(3) Personnel Recovery
• Pentagon tasking, repatriation and reintegration events
• Psychological support to recovered DoD assets to
facilitate associated intelligence collection mission
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Defining the Domain:
What is “Operational Psychology?”
Core Competencies (cont.)
(4) Professional Ethics –
Emphasis on:
• APA Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS)
task force report
• Intelligence oversight (intelligence law)
• Laws of warfare
Sensitivity and judgment with respect to:
• Limitations of validity and reliability in assessment
• Challenges of dual relationships
• Distinguishing subject and client relationships
• Multicultural awareness and expertise
UNCLASSIFIED / FOUO
Behavioral Science
Consultation Team (BSCT)
BSCT Mission: observe and consult to ensure safe, legal, ethical,
and effective intelligence collection and detention operations at
the Bagram Theater Internment Facility (BTIF)
TF
Commander
Theater PMO
Detention
Operations
Intelligence
Collection
BSCT
Law
Enforcement
Investigation
SERE Psychology:
Reintegration
Reintegration of Prisoners of War,
Hostages, Peacetime Government
Detainees, and Other Missing or
Isolated Personnel through Reception,
Screening, Debriefing, and support
SERE Psychologists
Phase I Operations
Phase II
Phase III-CONUS

…And a Medic Came with Them