Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Flight Deck Interval Management Avionics: Eye-Tracking Analysis, Kara Latorella, John W. Harden

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Interval Management (IM) is one NexGen method for achieving airspace efficiencies. In order to initiate IM procedures, Air Traffic Control provides an IM clearance to the IM aircraft’s pilots that indicates an intended spacing from another aircraft (the target to follow – or TTF) and the point at which this should be achieved. Pilots enter the clearance in the flight deck IM (FIM) system; and once the TTF’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast signal is available, the FIM algorithm generates target speeds to meet that IM goal. This study examined four Avionics Conditions (defined by the instrumentation and location presenting FIM information) …

Multi-Gain Control: Balancing Demands For Speed And Precision, Lucas Lemasters, John Flach

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Woodworth's Two-Component model (1899) partitioned speeded limb movements into two distinct phases: (1) a central ballistic open-loop mechanism and (2) a closed-loop feedback component. The present study investigated the implementation of multi-gain control configurations that utilized separate gain values optimized for each movement phase. A target acquisition task using Fitts' Law (1954) was performed within a virtual environment using multiple control devices with three gain settings: (1) mono-gain, (2) dual-gain, and (3) continuous gain. It was found that dual-gain and continuous gain configurations yielded lower movement times and information-processing rates than the mono-gain configurations. The secondary gain values presented in …

Impact Of Weather Information Latency On General Aviation Pilot Situation Awareness, Barrett S. Caldwell, Mary E. Johnson, Geoffrey Whitehurst, Vladimir Rishukin, Nsikak Udo-Imeh, Lucero Duran, Megan M. Nyre, Lauren Sperlak

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

A critical element of situation awareness and sensemaking support for humans in complex environments is the ability to access, detect, and integrate environmental elements to recognize and project the state of the world. Some past research has suggested that new weather technology capabilities in general aviation (GA) flight settings could help improve pilot decision making and reduce accidents such as unintentional transitions from visual flight rules (VFR) to marginal VFR or even instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). This paper addresses an ongoing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funded research project investigating the effect of transmission delays and update latencies in presentations of …

Integrating Uas Operations In Class C Airspace, Todd R. Truitt, Randy L. Sollenberger

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations in the National Airspace System because military, commercial, and civil users want to fly UAS for a broad range of purposes. Our research addresses the potential impact to Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCS) due to UAS pilots’ inability to comply with FAA regulations and air traffic control clearances and instructions that require direct visual means. UAS pilots cannot maintain visual separation from other aircraft, report aircraft in sight, or conduct visual approaches. The inability of UAS pilots to rely on visual means may affect ATCS workload, performance, and …

Attentional Narrowing: A First Step Towards Controlled Studies Of A Threat To Aviation Safety, Julie Prinet, Nadine Sarter

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Attentional narrowing - the involuntary restriction of attention to a small set of data or one task/goal - is a major concern in many complex, high-risk domains. Research into this phenomenon is much needed but hampered by the difficulty of inducing it reliably in a controlled experimental setting. The present study tested the effectiveness of loud noise and high task demand for achieving this goal. Seven participants performed a visual search task in the context of a simplified air traffic control simulation. Performance and eye tracking data were recorded. Eye tracking metrics showed a narrowing of participants’ visual attentional field …

The Cognition Of Multi-Aircraft Control (Mac): Proactive Interference And Working Memory Capacity, Kelly Amaddio, Michael Miller, John Elshaw, Victor Finomore

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

As the number of U.S. Air Force missions requiring UAVs has rapidly increased without commensurate increases in manpower, systems which permit a single operator to supervise and control multiple, highly-automated aircraft are being considered. The operator of such a system may be required to monitor and respond to voice communications for multiple UAVs, each of which can have aircraft specific call signs, which may impose excessive requirements on constrained operator attention, working memory, and cognitive processing. The current research investigates the cognitive load (number of aircraft call signs) an individual can handle and explores the effect of proactive interference (PI) …

Statistical Errors In Aviation Psychology: Commonsense Statistics In Aviation Safety Research, Christopher D. Wickens

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

I discuss problems with the use of null hypothesis significance testing, as it is particularly applied to safety research such as that in aviation psychology. Such problems are manifest in the inherent bias of traditional statistics to avoid type 1 statistical errors, and hence to discourage findings of safety improving effects as significant, when low powered experimental designs are required by necessary constraints. In contrast, I offer several approaches or remedies. Researchers should think about the decisions made by consumers of their research, based on the costs and values of those decisions; they should form alternative hypotheses, use smart planned …

Requirements For Developing The Model Of Spatial Orientation Into An Applied Cockpit Warning System, Ben D. Lawson, Braden J. Mcgrath, Michael C. Newman, Angus H. Rupert

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Refinements have been made to a model of spatial disorientation (SD) to improve simulation of acceleration stimuli and visual-vestibular interactions. The improved model has been applied to aviation mishaps. The model is considered a technological countermeasure for SD because it is implemented as prototype software to aid the identification of mishap contributors in a way that should benefit didactic training. There is a more direct way this countermeasure can prevent SD, which is by adapting it for use as part of a cockpit warning system. The idea is to expand the model from one which explains mishaps post-hoc into one …

Possibilities Of Using The On-Board Intelligent Voice Informing Systems In Complex Flight Situations, Oleksandr Petrenko

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

The paper discusses expediency and possibility of using the on-board voice informing systems aimed at issuing messages which help recognize hazardous scenarios and work out correct strategies of flight crew activities. Important possibilities of man-to-machine speech interactions in intelligent cockpits analyzed taking into account the wide range of psychological characteristics of speech. Voice channel of machine-to-man interaction regarded as one of the tools of effective conjugation of capabilities of intelligent cockpit and human’s special heuristic potential. In the context of cockpit intellectualization prerequisites for the voice information reporting system functions transformation appear. The concept and flowchart of Intelligent Voice Support …

After-Action Reviews: Best Practices And Application To Aerospace Education, Richard G. Moffett Iii, Michael B. Hein, Jessie M. Mcclure

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

This study describes an approach to after–action reviews (AARs) used in a university capstone course that uses a high-fidelity team simulation of a flight operations center for a regional airlines. The specific methods used in the AARs are discussed in the context of comparing them to possible best practices for conducting AARs.

Identifying Representative Symbology For Low Visibility Operations/Surface Movement Guidance And Control System (Lvo/Smgcs) Paper Charts, Andrea L. Sparko, Stephanie G. Chase

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

The Volpe Center developed a questionnaire to examine the representativeness of symbol shapes and the usefulness of information depicted on Low Visibility Operations/Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (LVO/SMGCS) paper charts. One-hundred forty-four pilots were shown a series of symbol shapes and responded “Yes” or “No” to whether they considered each symbol shape representative of a given information type. Symbol shapes were presented at increasing levels of context. Pilots then rated the usefulness of information depicted on LVO/SMGCS charts. Pilots identified representative symbol shapes for a geographic position marking, instrument landing system (ILS) hold line, runway guard lights (RGL), stop …

A Valid And Reliable Safety Scale For Passenger’S Perceptions Of Airport Safety, Stephen Rice, Rian Mehta, Scott Winter, Korhan Oyman

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Previous research has developed various customer satisfaction scales in many applied areas; however, to our knowledge, there is not a validated scale for measuring commercial airline passengers’ ratings of personal safety based on airport security. The current study seeks to address this missing gap by developing a valid and reliable safety scale for commercial airline passengers (SS-CAP). We first solicited words and phrases that are related to a passenger’s feeling of safety from potential consumers and experts in the field. We then narrowed down the list to 7 remaining items. Lastly, we tested the scale using participants from Amazon's ® …

An Evaluation Of The Utility Of At-Sat For The Placement Of New Controllers By Option, Cristina L. Byrne, Dana Broach

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

In this study, we investigated the utility and fairness of using the Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) test battery to place Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) applicants into terminal or en route facilities. While results of statistical analyses indicated that AT-SAT could be considered a valid tool for use in placement, based on technical considerations only, it was concluded that it should not be used in that way due to lack of utility and potential for adverse impact. If the FAA were to use AT-SAT for placement, the risk of additional adverse impact and pay disparities should be evaluated …

Identifying Mental Models Of Search In A Simulated Flight Task Using A Pathmapping Approach, Brandon S. Perelman, Shane T. Mueller

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Aerial assets are often used for missions such as intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. The pilot’s search decisions reflect a mental model for the search space, including characteristics such as target prioritization, distance-reward evaluations, and path optimization cri-teria. To investigate differences in these mental models, we examined 23 participants’ paths flown in a synthetic task environment in which they piloted a simulated aircraft to search for targets rep-resenting missing persons. Determining similarity among flight paths is a challenge. To accom-plish this, we used a new tool (Pathmapping, a package in the R statistical computing language; Mueller, Perelman, & Veinott, …

Uas Air Traffic Controller Acceptability Study-2: Effects Of Communications Delays And Winds In Simulation, James R. Comstock Jr., Rania W. Ghatas, Maria C. Consiglio, James P. Chamberlain, Keith D. Hoffler

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

This study evaluated the effects of Communications Delays and Winds on Air Traffic Controller ratings of acceptability of horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between UAS and manned aircraft in a simulation of the Dallas-Ft. Worth East-side airspace. Fourteen encounters per hour were staged in the presence of moderate background traffic. Seven recently retired controllers with experience at DFW served as subjects. Guidance provided to the UAS pilots for maintaining a given HMD was provided by information from self-separation algorithms displayed on the Multi-Aircraft Simulation System. Winds tested did not affect the acceptability ratings. Communications delays tested included 0, 400, …

Faa Training Assessment Of On-The-Job Training, Darendia Mccauley

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

The field training administered to air traffic controllers is provided by instructors who are also controllers but have undergone training to become on-the-job training instructors (OJTIs). The training of these field OJTIs is under revision based on a training needs assessment conducted in 2011. Controllers who were not successful in training at their first facility can be reassigned to another facility, where they receive field training specific to that facility. The controllers who did not succeed in training initially and requested reassignment may have a useful perspective on the training they received. This perspective may aid in revising the training …

Eeg Data Analysis Using Artifact Separation, Chelsey Credlebaugh, Matthew Middendorf, Michael Hoepf, Scott Galster

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

It has been postulated that physiological measures can be a positive indicator of mental workload. One such measure is the electroencephalogram (EEG). It is well known that the EEG signal is easily affected by artifacts. One prominent source of artifacts is eye activity, including blinks and saccades. These contaminates coincide directly with EEG signals, making it difficult to obtain artifact-free data. This paper discusses a methodology that performs artifact separation at the data analysis stage. This technique was used to analyze data from a recent experiment. Workload was manipulated by varying the difficulty of the primary task while responding to …

Panel On Cross-Cultural Pilot Selection, Diane L. Damos, Mark R. Rose, Monica Martinussen, Jan L. Lorenz

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Airlines in developing nations often face a pilot shortage. Airlines in such countries either must recruit experienced pilots worldwide or aid in the establishment of national flying schools. The first presentation explains some of the issues the airlines encounter in performing worldwide background screenings on experienced pilots. Selecting either experienced pilots or cadets from a multi-cultural, multi-lingual applicant pool is challenging. The second presentation discusses data comparing native versus immigrant cadet applicants on cognitive tests. The third presentation describes problems associated with adapting a personality assessment to a new culture and language and the resultant predictive validities. Selecting cadets for …

Enroute Atc Industry Perceptions Of Simulation Fidelity, Colin Dow, Jonathan Histon

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Enroute air traffic control (ATC) relies heavily on simulation in training, research, and concept development applications. However, it has little domain-specific research on the effects of simulation fidelity and lacks a standardized definition of simulation fidelity in the literature. A survey of ATC industry professionals shows that simulation fidelity is not perceived to be well defined for the domain of enroute ATC, regardless of respondent nationality, experience, use of simulation or gender. Parts of the operational environment that survey respondents felt were important components in a definition of simulation fidelity are reported; Communications is the most important component regardless of …

Pilots’ Willingness To Report Aviation Incidents, Andreas Haslbeck, Carsten Schmidt-Moll, Ekkehart Schubert

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

This paper reports results from a survey-based study among eighty-six airline pilots investigating their willingness to report safety-relevant events and incidents. Pilots have been asked to report how many events they have experienced in thirty-five different contextual areas and how often they have reported these cases. Thus, underreporting rates, respectively dark figures, were calculated and listed. These results and the willingness to report are discussed within an aviation operation’s background. Most of these surveyed underreporting rates are very high, which means a substantial source of uncertainty in airlines’ safety reporting databases, and thus for airlines’ safety management systems.

Simulator-Based Assessment Of Flight-Specific Aptitudes In German Armed Forces’ Aircrew Selection, Katrin Meierfrankenfeld, Werner Greß, Tina Vorbach

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

This paper outlines German Armed Forces’ (GAF) approach to predict future success in flight training of applicants for becoming aircrew member. GAF’s aircrew selection procedure consists of three phases. Phase I and II include the assessment of basic aptitudes and the aviation-medical examination. Phase III (fixed wing) is more complex. It consists of one week simulator-based screening in a typical training scenario: Candidates prove their skills both in 4 simulator-flight missions with increasing workload and in academic training. As in real flight training, a briefing, a demonstration and a practice phase and subsequent debriefings prepare candidates for their check phases. …

A Role For Folk Psychology In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews

Experimentation Collection

If we consider that the field of animal cognition research began with Darwin’s stories about clever animals, we can see that over the 150 years of work done in this field, there has been a slow swing back and forth between two extreme positions. One extreme is the view that other animals are very much like us, that we can use introspection in order to understand why other animals act as they do, and that no huge interpretive leap is required to understand animal minds. On the other extreme we have the view that other animals are utterly different from …

Integrating Mrna And Mirna Weighted Gene Co-Expression Networks With Eqtls In The Nucleus Accumbens Of Subjects With Alcohol Dependence, Mohammed Mamdani, Vernell Williamson, Gowon O. Mcmichael, Tana Blevins, Fazil Aliev, Amy Adkins, Laura Hack, Tim Bigdeli, Andrew D. Van Der Vaart, Bradley Todd Webb, Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Gursharan Kalsi, Coga Consortium, Kenneth S. Kendler, Michael F. Miles, Danielle Dick, Brien P. Riley, Catherine Dumur, Vladimir I. Vladimirov

Psychology Publications

Alcohol consumption is known to lead to gene expression changes in the brain. After performing weighted gene co-expression network analyses (WGCNA) on genome-wide mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression in Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) of subjects with alcohol dependence (AD; N = 18) and of matched controls (N = 18), six mRNA and three miRNA modules significantly correlated with AD were identified (Bonferoni-adj. p≤ 0.05). Cell-type-specific transcriptome analyses revealed two of the mRNA modules to be enriched for neuronal specific marker genes and downregulated in AD, whereas the remaining four mRNA modules were enriched for astrocyte and microglial specific marker genes and …

Developmental Changes In Genetic And Shared Environmental Contributions To Smoking Initiation And Subsequent Smoking Quantity In Adolescence And Young Adulthood, Cristina B. Bares, Kenneth S. Kendler, Hermine H. Maes

Psychiatry Publications

Background

Few studies examining the genetic architecture of cigarette smoking have focused on adolescents or examined developmental changes in additive genetic, shared environment and unique environmental influences on liability to initiate cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked. The aim of this study is to add to the literature on liability to initiate and use cigarettes during adolescence using a nationally representative sample.

Method

Data for this study came from adolescent and young adult twin pairs (ages 14-33) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We ran a series of developmental causal-contingent-common pathway models to examine whether …

Genetic Network Properties Of The Human Cortex Based On Regional Thickness And Surface Area Measures, Anna R. Docherty, Chelsea K. Sawyers, Matthew S. Panizzon, Michael C. Neale, Lisa T. Eyler, Christine Fennema-Notestine, Carol E. Franz, Chi-Hua Chen, Linda K. Mcevoy, Brad Verhulst, Ming T. Tsuang, William S. Kremen

Psychiatry Publications

We examined network properties of genetic covariance between average cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) within genetically-identified cortical parcellations that we previously derived from human cortical genetic maps using vertex-wise fuzzy clustering analysis with high spatial resolution. There were 24 hierarchical parcellations based on vertex-wise CT and 24 based on vertex-wise SA expansion/contraction; in both cases the 12 parcellations per hemisphere were largely symmetrical. We utilized three techniques—biometrical genetic modeling, cluster analysis, and graph theory—to examine genetic relationships and network properties within and between the 48 parcellation measures. Biometrical modeling indicated significant shared genetic covariance between size of several …

Political Attitudes Develop Independently Of Personality Traits, Peter K. Hatemi, Brad Verhulst

Psychiatry Publications

The primary assumption within the recent personality and political orientations literature is that personality traits cause people to develop political attitudes. In contrast, research relying on traditional psychological and developmental theories suggests the relationship between most personality dimensions and political orientations are either not significant or weak. Research from behavioral genetics suggests the covariance between personality and political preferences is not causal, but due to a common, latent genetic factor that mutually influences both. The contradictory assumptions and findings from these research streams have yet to be resolved. This is in part due to the reliance on cross-sectional data and …

Genome-Wide Association Data Suggest Abcb1 And Immune-Related Gene Sets May Be Involved In Adult Antisocial Behavior, J E. Salvatore, A C. Edwards, J N. Mcclintick, T B. Bidgeli, A Adkins, F Aliev, H J. Edenberg, T Foround, V Hesselbrock, J Kramer, J I. Nurnberger, M Schuckit, J A. Tischfield, X Xuei, D Dick

Psychiatry Publications

Adult antisocial behavior (AAB) is moderately heritable, relatively common and has adverse consequences for individuals and society. We examined the molecular genetic basis of AAB in 1379 participants from a case–control study in which the cases met criteria for alcohol dependence. We also examined whether genes of interest were expressed in human brain. AAB was measured using a count of the number of Antisocial Personality Disorder criteria endorsed under criterion A from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV). Participants were genotyped on the Illumina Human 1M BeadChip. In total, all single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) accounted for …

Who Are Those “Risk-Taking Adolescents”? Individual Differences In Developmental Neuroimaging Research, James M. Bjork, Dustin A. Pardini

Psychiatry Publications

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has illuminated the development of human brain function. Some of this work in typically-developing youth has ostensibly captured neural underpinnings of adolescent behavior which is characterized by risk-seeking propensity, according to psychometric questionnaires and a wealth of anecdote. Notably, cross-sectional comparisons have revealed age-dependent differences between adolescents and other age groups in regional brain responsiveness to prospective or experienced rewards (usually greater in adolescents) or penalties (usually diminished in adolescents). These differences have been interpreted as reflecting an imbalance between motivational drive and behavioral control mechanisms, especially in mid-adolescence, thus promoting greater risk-taking. While intriguing, …

Impact Of Task Load And Gaze On Situation Awareness In Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control, Joseph T. Coyne, Ciara M. Sibley

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

Increasing levels of automation and rising costs of manpower are pushing the DoD towards a supervisory control paradigm for future unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions. Using the Supervisory Control Operations User Testbed, a group of 20 participants completed two twenty minute supervisory control missions where eye tracking and performance data were collected. Each mission had 3 levels of task load; which were manipulated by varying the frequency of events to which the user responded. During each level, the simulation paused and a situation awareness (SA) probe appeared with all UAVs and targets randomly placed on the map. Participants were tasked …

Behavioral Traps In Crew-Related Aviation Accidents, Jonathan Velázquez, Allen Peck, Timothy Sestak

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2015

The majority of aviation accidents are still attributed to human error, with flight crew actions accounting for the majority of these mishaps. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has identified 12 behavioral traps that can ensnare even experienced pilots. This study examined the FAA-defined behavioral traps and the regularity with which they occurred in flight crew related accidents. The top three traps were Neglect of Flight Planning, Preflight Inspection, and Checklists; Loss of Positional or Situational Awareness; and Getting Behind the Aircraft, which were found in 72%, 61%, and 48% of aviation accidents, respectively. The results showed the contributing factors of …