Can a measure of a student’s Emotional Intelligence be used as an indicator of their future flying success?

摘要

Emotional Intelligence is a set of emotional, personal and social abilities and competences which distinguishrnhigh performance in a variety of occupations. This paper summarises the results of a research project withinrnthe Royal Air Force (RAF) Flying Training System to investigate the role of Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) in thernoccupations of RAF Pilots and Aircrew who have completed their flying training. This is the first study in thernUK to explore the role of E.I. In the capabilities of combat ready aircrew.rnThe project was sponsored by Defence System Training Laboratory (Dstl) Aircrew Training Program andrncarried out between March and June 09. The paper is jointly presented by RAF Human Factors (HF) Centre,rnHQ Central Flying School (CFS) and Ei World, the company who conducted the assessment and analysis ofrnthe data.rnThe survey methodology was entirely questionnaire based, one that could be applied easily to combat readyrnaircrew within the time/budget constraints of the project and one that could provide access to a large numberrnof aircrew working in complex operational contexts. The research was intended to create ‘base-line’ datarnupon which some initial conclusions could be drawn about the impact of a person’s E.I. On their performancernin flying training. As successful completion of training leads to being employed in a particular flight role, thernhierarchy of flight roles was considered a measure of performance. The research sought to explore whetherrndifferent flight roles had varying levels of emotional intelligence.rnIn reviewing the emotional intelligence across all flight roles (Pilot, Weapon System Operator (WSO), noncommissionedrnWeapon Systems Operator (WSOp) and across all categories of aircraft (fast jet (FJ), multienginern(ME) and rotary wing (RW), there appears to be a similar set of foundational E.I. Abilities with fewrnstatistically significant differences in the emotional intelligence of pilots across flight roles and types ofrnaircraft. As all aircrew who took part in the study showed similar levels of functional competence with regardrnto emotional intelligence, the next logical step in investigating the use of emotional intelligence as anrnindicator of future success is to study those who are not selected for aircrew training or who have failed oncernselected, and those aircrew who are promoted to high rank within the RAF. This study provided a firstrnsnapshot of emotional intelligence amongst aircrew in the Royal Air Force.