RELATING PERSONALITY WITH STRESS COPING STRATEGIES
AMONG STUDENT PILOTS IN A COLLEGIATE FLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM
Tracy G. Dillinger, Douglas A. Wiegmann, and Narinder Taneja
University of Illinois, Aviation Human Factors Division
Savoy, Illinois
Aviation psychologists have long been interested in studying the personality characteristics of successful and safe
pilots. To date, much of the research on pilot personality has involved the use of military aircrew. Few studies have
examined the role of personality in civil aviation pilots’ performance and stress coping during flight training.
Therefore, little is known about the personality profiles of commercial and general aviation pilots, or the relationship
between personality dimensions and the use of different strategies for dealing with flight-related stressors. Given the
recurrent cutbacks in the U.S. military, an increasing number of commercial pilots in the U.S. are now being trained
and recruited from the private sector rather than from the Armed Forces. Consequently, a better understanding of the
personality profiles and stress coping strategies of pilots entering civil aviation training programs may help develop
better selection, training, and safety programs for the civil aviation industry. To address these issues, we
administered a personality test (Cattell, 1972) and a stress coping questionnaire (COPE) to first-year students (n=50)
enrolled in the Professional Pilot Training program at the University of Illinois’ Institute of Aviation. Results
revealed that certain personality and stress-coping profiles of student pilots differed significantly from previously
published norms within the population. Personality characteristics were differentially and significantly related to
specific stress coping strategies adopted by student pilots. These findings support the notion that civil aviation pilots
have different personality characteristics than non-pilots. In addition, they demonstrate that such differences can be
associated with important stress coping strategies that may contribute to flight-training performance and success
within civil aviation. Additional research is needed to increase the sample size used in this study and to track pilots’
career performance long term.
Introduction
Intervention strategies to improve flight safety and
prevent human error include the application of human
factor principles to the design of cockpits, as well as
to the development of better training procedures.
However, aviation psychologists continue their long
concern with studying the psychological or
personality characteristics of successful and safe
pilots as well. Personality is defined as “the
characteristic way in which a person thinks, feels and
behaves; the ingrained pattern of behavior that each
person evolves, both consciously and unconsciously,
as the style of life or way of being in adapting to the
environment” (American Psychiatric Association,
1980).
The objectives of early personality studies centered
on the identification of personality characteristics that
might predict successful adaptation to military
aeronautics for use in pilot selection. A consistent
pattern of findings emerged from these studies, which
described military pilots as more achievement
oriented, outgoing, active, competitive, dominant and
less introspective, emotional, sensitive, and selfeffacing
than their non-flying counterparts (Ashman
& Telfer, 1983; Fine & Hartman, 1968). Within the
broad category of military pilots, a subset has often
been labeled as the “right stuff,” who in addition to
the above personality traits, tend to be the most
aggressive, dominant, exhibitionistic and self
aggrandizing (Retzlaff & Gibertini, 1987).
Surprisingly, little empirical evidence supports the
importance of pilot personality in pilot performance,
despite the above characterization. Several studies
failed to find a relationship between pilot
personalities and success in pilot training programs.
One of the most comprehensive early efforts to
investigate personality measures for predicting
aviation performance was conducted by the Army Air
Forces Aviation Psychology program (Guilford,
1947). This effort sought to determine the predictive
value of a number of commercially available tests.
With very few exceptions, personality measures did
not predict success in primary flight training. North
and Griffin (1977) reviewed aviator selection
research from 1917 to 1977 including a review of
personality inventories. These authors found that
approximately 40 different personality inventories
and scales were used for pilot selection between 1950
and 1976, “without any appreciable impact on the
selection of aviator candidates.”
Given the inability of researchers to demonstrate the
importance of pilot personality on flight training
success, interest in personality within the aviation
domain generally waned over the years. However,
interest in pilot personality revived as some
researchers began to find relationships between
To be presented at the 12th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, Dayton, OH, 2003.
AMONG STUDENT PILOTS IN A COLLEGIATE FLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM
Tracy G. Dillinger, Douglas A. Wiegmann, and Narinder Taneja
University of Illinois, Aviation Human Factors Division
Savoy, Illinois
Aviation psychologists have long been interested in studying the personality characteristics of successful and safe
pilots. To date, much of the research on pilot personality has involved the use of military aircrew. Few studies have
examined the role of personality in civil aviation pilots’ performance and stress coping during flight training.
Therefore, little is known about the personality profiles of commercial and general aviation pilots, or the relationship
between personality dimensions and the use of different strategies for dealing with flight-related stressors. Given the
recurrent cutbacks in the U.S. military, an increasing number of commercial pilots in the U.S. are now being trained
and recruited from the private sector rather than from the Armed Forces. Consequently, a better understanding of the
personality profiles and stress coping strategies of pilots entering civil aviation training programs may help develop
better selection, training, and safety programs for the civil aviation industry. To address these issues, we
administered a personality test (Cattell, 1972) and a stress coping questionnaire (COPE) to first-year students (n=50)
enrolled in the Professional Pilot Training program at the University of Illinois’ Institute of Aviation. Results
revealed that certain personality and stress-coping profiles of student pilots differed significantly from previously
published norms within the population. Personality characteristics were differentially and significantly related to
specific stress coping strategies adopted by student pilots. These findings support the notion that civil aviation pilots
have different personality characteristics than non-pilots. In addition, they demonstrate that such differences can be
associated with important stress coping strategies that may contribute to flight-training performance and success
within civil aviation. Additional research is needed to increase the sample size used in this study and to track pilots’
career performance long term.
Introduction
Intervention strategies to improve flight safety and
prevent human error include the application of human
factor principles to the design of cockpits, as well as
to the development of better training procedures.
However, aviation psychologists continue their long
concern with studying the psychological or
personality characteristics of successful and safe
pilots as well. Personality is defined as “the
characteristic way in which a person thinks, feels and
behaves; the ingrained pattern of behavior that each
person evolves, both consciously and unconsciously,
as the style of life or way of being in adapting to the
environment” (American Psychiatric Association,
1980).
The objectives of early personality studies centered
on the identification of personality characteristics that
might predict successful adaptation to military
aeronautics for use in pilot selection. A consistent
pattern of findings emerged from these studies, which
described military pilots as more achievement
oriented, outgoing, active, competitive, dominant and
less introspective, emotional, sensitive, and selfeffacing
than their non-flying counterparts (Ashman
& Telfer, 1983; Fine & Hartman, 1968). Within the
broad category of military pilots, a subset has often
been labeled as the “right stuff,” who in addition to
the above personality traits, tend to be the most
aggressive, dominant, exhibitionistic and self
aggrandizing (Retzlaff & Gibertini, 1987).
Surprisingly, little empirical evidence supports the
importance of pilot personality in pilot performance,
despite the above characterization. Several studies
failed to find a relationship between pilot
personalities and success in pilot training programs.
One of the most comprehensive early efforts to
investigate personality measures for predicting
aviation performance was conducted by the Army Air
Forces Aviation Psychology program (Guilford,
1947). This effort sought to determine the predictive
value of a number of commercially available tests.
With very few exceptions, personality measures did
not predict success in primary flight training. North
and Griffin (1977) reviewed aviator selection
research from 1917 to 1977 including a review of
personality inventories. These authors found that
approximately 40 different personality inventories
and scales were used for pilot selection between 1950
and 1976, “without any appreciable impact on the
selection of aviator candidates.”
Given the inability of researchers to demonstrate the
importance of pilot personality on flight training
success, interest in personality within the aviation
domain generally waned over the years. However,
interest in pilot personality revived as some
researchers began to find relationships between
To be presented at the 12th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology, Dayton, OH, 2003.
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