The evaluation of the decision making processes employed by cadet pilots following a short aeronautical decision-making training program.

摘要

Many aeronautical decision-making (ADM) mnemonic-based methods exist.However, there is no empirical research that suggests that they are actuallyeffective in improving decision-making. Klein (1993), in his study ofnaturalistic decision making suggested that the decision-making processcenters around two processes; situation assessment to generate a plausiblecourse of action and mental simulation to evaluate that course of action forrisk management. In this study a short, ADM training course was constructedaround two mnemonic methods, SHOR (Stimuli, Hypotheses, Options, and Response)and DESIDE (Detect, Estimate, Set safety objectives, Identify, Do, Evaluate).Forty-one pilots from the Republic of China Tactical Training Wingparticipated: half received a short ADM training course and half did not.After training, the procedural knowledge underpinning their SituationAssessment and Risk Management ability, two skills essential for successfuldecision-making, were evaluated using pencil and paper-based knowledge testsbased upon several demanding tactical flight situations. These scenarioswere designed to encompass the six basic types of decision making describedby Orasanu (1993); go/no go decisions; recognition-primed decisions; responseselection decisions; resource management decisions; non-diagnosticprocedural decisions, and decisions requiring creative problem-solving. Theresults show gains attributable to the decision making training course inboth situation assessment and risk management skills. The results stronglysuggest that ADM is trainable and such a training course is effective inimproving the bases of in-flight decision-making.