title: Predicting pilots' risk-taking behavior through an implicit association test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Implicit Association Test (IAT), in combination with a battery of additional psychometric tests, was employed to examine the accuracy with which it predicts pilots' risk-taking behavior.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Risk management is an integral part of piloting. Many factors affect pilots' risk management, including individual differences. Therefore, employing a unique methodology from social cognition, the present study examined the influence of attitude, as measured implicitly through the IAT, personality, and flight experience variables on pilots' risk-taking behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  In addition to a simulated flight on a computer-based flight simulator, 35 pilots completed a battery of psychometric tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 6 risk perception variables, 10 risk attitude variables, and 2 experience variables, only 2 variables were found to be significantly related with in-flight risk-taking behavior: everyday risk (risk perception) and the IAT effect (attitude). Of these, the IAT effect was the strongest predictor of flight behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that implicit attitudinal measures, such as the IAT, provide a more accurate forecast of pilot behavior than do the more traditional explicit attitudinal or personality measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An implicit attitudinal measure can be proactively employed to identify pilots who are potentially more likely to engage in high-risk activities, hence permitting a more strategic approach to pilot training.
authors.affiliation: University of New South Wales, Aviation Room 205C, Old Main Building, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia. b.molesworth@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Brett R C
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Molesworth
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012308:Risk Management; D012309:Risk-Taking