The Effects of Life-Stress on Pilot Performance

http://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/flightcognition/Publications/Young_TM2008_215375_final.pdf


The Effects of Life-Stress on Pilot Performance

James A. Young

NASA/TM–2008-215375

The effects of acute stress, due to immediate threat, on skilled performance of pilots and other human operators are fairly well documented, but much less research has been conducted on the effects of stress from difficult life situations (life stress). Clinical research has focused more on the effects of life stressors on an individual's mood and coping than on skilled performance of demanding tasks such as military aviation. Pilots are reluctant to reveal information that
might cause them to be removed from flight status, which makes study of this issue difficult. This paper reviews existing research on the effects of life stress on pilots' performance. Although this research has substantial methodological limitations, it does suggest that life stress can impair performance, and probably does so more than pilots realize. Performance may be impaired through mechanisms such as disturbed sleep, altered mood, decreased motivation, and preemption of attention and working memory by worry. A wide range of questions that require further research, carefully designed, is discussed

Acute stress, Cognition, Skilled performance, Pilot performance, Life-stress, Attention, Working memory