Social Psychology and Flight Deck Management

Identify the broad characteristics of personality and distinguish individual differences

Board Characteristics- Traits such as extraversion/introversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness and agreeableness that influence behavior, decision making and stress response

Individual Difference- Variations in these traits make each person respond differently to situations, handle stress differently and perform uniquely in tasks

Define Cognitive Dissonance

Holding of conflicting beliefs or ideas at the same time

Explain the concept of crew resource management (CRM)

CRM is the effective use of all available resources- human, technical, and informational- to enhance safety and decision-making in flight operations

Identify crew resource management elements of accident reviews

Poor communication, lack of teamwork, failure to share information, inadequate task delegation, and ineffective decision-making are common CRM-related factors in accidents

Describe methods of maximizing crew resource management

Use clear communication, teamwork, task delegation, mutual monitoring, shared decision-making, and regular training in CRM principles

Define teamwork and team membership

Teamwork- Group working together to shared goal

Team membership- Role of individual in group

Identify the factors that affect team performance

Overconfidence

Authority gradient

Stress

Fatigue

Personality

Cultural differences

Describe how the effective teams or team working can reduce errors

Team reduces error by sharing information, cross-checking actions, monitoring each other, and supporting decision-making

Describe the group decision making

Group decision making involves multiple people contributing ideas, evaluating options, and reaching a consensus to improve safety and reduce individual bias

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making

Advantages- Workload shared, Error tapping, Decrease individual bias and prejudice

Disadvantages- Time consuming, Conformity

Explain the concepts of:

risk shift

conformity

compliance

The idea the people are more prone to make risker decisions in a group

Adjusting one behavior to algin with majority

Publicly agreeing while privately disagreeing

Describe the following personality traits and explain their effect on group decision making:

introversion

extraversion

anxiety

Quiet, process information internally. Less assertive during emergency

Open and decisive. Dominant

Narrow focus. Increase error, decrease communication

Explain and differentiate between goal/task directed and relationship directed styles of behavior

Goal/task directed- Focused on completing tasks, achieving objectives and meeting deadline; priorities efficiency and performance

Relationship directed- Focused on building and maintaining positive relationship, team cohesion and communication; prioritize people and morale

Describe autocratic and democratic leadership styles

Autocratic- Centralized decision making with short control. Can lead to miss warning

Democratic- CRM and Safety culture. Slow urgent situation

Describe ideal leadership characteristics

Adaptability

Speak up

Good decision making

Set goals

Explain problems that can arise from:

status/seniority differences

lack of assertiveness

cultural differences

Steep gradient

Poor communication

Authority gradient problems, communication styles and language barrier

Explain the concept of authority gradient

Steep- Captain dictates, crew lacks assertiveness

Shallow- Captain and crew (high communication)

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of varying cockpit authority gradients

Advantages- Clear authority improves decision-making, accountability, and efficiency

Disadvantages- Too steep may discourage input from junior crew; too shallow may cause confusion or indecision

Explain problems that can arise from an authority gradient that is too steep or too shallow

Too steep- Junior crew may hesitate to speak up, leading to uncorrected errors

Too shallow- Lack of clear leadership can cause confusion, slow decisions, and conflict

Describe cultural aspects of authority gradient

Crew behavior and willingness to challenge authority can be influenced by cultural norms regarding hierarchy, respect, and communication styles

Describe a basic model of communications

Sender Message Channel Receiver Feedback

Explain the influence of the following on the effectiveness of cockpit communication:

the skills of enquiry, advocacy and assertion

listening

conflict resolution

critique/feedback

Help clarify information, express concerns, and ensure decisions are understood

Ensures messages are received accurately and situational awareness is maintained

Prevents disagreements from disrupting operations or decision making

Supports learning, error correction, and improved future performance

Describe the barriers to effective communication

Factors that prevent accurate understanding of information. E.g., noise in cockpit, poor radio signal, headset failure, fatigue and stress, authority gradient, poor engine proficiency, and lack of standard phraseology

Identify techniques to reduce communication barriers

Use readbacks

Avoid assumption

Speak clearly and slowly

Standard phraseology

Confirm and crosscheck communication

Active listening

Explain the following strategies used to reduce communication errors in aviation:

read-backs

standard phraseology

standard calls

cross-checks

document verification checks

display and control setting checks

sterile cockpit policies

Ensures correct understanding

Avoid confusion

Improves coordination

Detects errors easily

Ensure correct information

Prevent incorrect setting

Reduce distraction

Describe means of managing effective communications between flight and crew and:

cabin crew

passengers

air traffic control services

maintenance personnel

company personnel

Pre flight briefing, ensures pax safety

Pax brief, keep pax informed and calm

Standard phraseology, readback, safe aircraft separation

Accurate defect report, use technical log, ensure aircraft airworthiness

Clear communication, follow company procedure and safe/efficient operation