Psychological Science ›› 2018, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 936-941.

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Pilots’ Risk Perception: Conception, Measurement and Theoretical Orientation

1,Wen-Qiang LIHong-Yu CHEN1,   

  • Received:2017-06-28 Revised:2018-03-28 Online:2018-07-20 Published:2018-07-20

飞行员风险知觉:概念、测量及研究理论取向

秦奎元,李文强,陈宏玉,李瑛   

  1. 陕西师范大学
  • 通讯作者: 李瑛

Abstract: In modern aviation, risk management is a prerequisite skill for pilot due to the nature of aviation activity. The perception of risk is the key component of risk management, and has a vital impact on flight safety. In addition, the pilots’ risk perception can effectively predict the involvement of flight accidents and safe operation. Firstly, the risk perception is different from the general perception. Some researchers proposed that the risk perception was the recognition of risk inherent in a situation, and risk perception might be mediated by characteristics of different situations and different individuals. Some studies proposed that the risk perception was essentially a cognitive activity, which identified the inherent risk in various situations, including accurate external circumstances and the difference of personal abilities. Secondly, this study introduced the measures of evaluating risk perception of pilots, which included the explicit self-reports and IATs (implicit association tests). Two explicit self-reports were put forward by Hunter and Pauley. Hunter used the risk perception-other measure and risk perception-self measure to assess the risk perception of pilots. The CWS (Cochran-Wsiss-Shanteau) parameter was implemented in Pauley’s study. IATs were used to investigate pilots’ risk perception and risk behaviors in some researches. Furthermore, some researchers also applied flight simulators to evaluate the perception of risk. And the advantages and disadvantages of these methods are comparatively discussed in this work. Thirdly, two theoretical orientations about the risk perception of pilots, namely the cognition theory and organizational culture theory are discussed. In the cognition theory, previous works have been summarized, which introduced risk perception to the field of aviation psychology. From the cognitive theory’s point, the researchers have studied the pilots’ risk perception from the perceptive of cognitive process. The situations that present a high level of risk for one person may present a low risk for the other. According to the results of traffic psychology study, researchers proposed that the pilots’ risk perception was a three-stage process, and included risk identification, risk assessment and behavior tendency. The organizational culture theory studied the pilots’ risk perception from the point of view of safety. Organizational culture is an organization's core values and business model, which refers to the values committed by all staff, behavioral norms, group consciousness, customs and habits. It is practiced through the work ethics of employees, interpersonal relationship orientation, team spirit, attitude towards risk, initiative and responsibility. Aviation psychologists proposed that different organizational cultures lead to different hazards’ perceptions and decision-making, and a stronger safety culture can reduce the occurrence of accidents. Finally, future research can explore pilots’ risk perception from the perspective of cognition and culture. In the theory of cognition, the model proposed in a previous study pointed out that the risk perception of pilots was a three-stage process. However, the model lacked empirical evidence. For future work, researchers should design experiments to explore the process of risk perception. With regards to culture, some researchers proposed that the risk perception was difference among various culture environments. In addition, research on social theory (from where the culture originates) and pilots’ risk perception is not enough. Therefore, the future study should explore the relationship between social theory and pilots’ risk perception.

Key words: Pilots, Risk Perception, Aviation Safety, Flight Simulator Test, CWS, Heuristics

摘要: 风险知觉是飞行员进行正确风险管理的核心,对保证航空安全具有重要作用。本文首先对不同研究者对飞行员风险知觉的概念进行综述,又与传统的知觉和危险知觉进行了区分。其次,文章简明地介绍了飞行员风险知觉的测量方法,包括外显的主观评价法、飞行模拟器测验、内隐联想测验等方法,分析各种方法的内容与其优缺点。最后,本文分别从认知理论取向和组织文化理论取向两个方面来探讨飞行员风险知觉的研究,并针对两种理论取向,提出相应的未来研究方向。

关键词: 飞行员, 风险知觉, 航空安全, 飞行模拟测验, CWS, 启发式