Pilots’ decision-making, emotions and cognitive performance in simulated environments

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to investigate pilots’ performances in distinct simulation environments as related to the phenomena of cognition, emotion and fatigue. By doing so, it provides psychological material to broaden the understanding and possibility to development of pilots’ non-technical skills category related to the operational context. The thesis examines these phenomena in two environmental settings, comprised of low- and high-fidelity context environments. Using a low-fidelity simulation (Study I), it investigates dynamic decision-making of commercial pilots. Next, using a high-fidelity environment (Studies II, III and IV), it investigates fatigue, cognition, emotion and its physiological associations in long-duration flight missions in a military context.   Study I indicates that low-fidelity simulations can be beneficial for the understanding of the cognitive processes involved in dynamic decision-making of commercial pilots. The use of such simulations can aid pilots in recognizing useful information in an ill-defined problem, which is essential for a successful decision process. The development of pilots’ decision-making can be complemented by the use of low-fidelity simulations. This may contribute to dynamic decisions in the flight environment. Studies II, III and IV indicate that high-fidelity environments are required when evaluating the context in which assessment of individual psychological aspects demands high representational level to the natural environment. Long-duration single-piloted aircraft missions should consider that pilots might have decreased sustained attention, decrease in positive emotions and increase in negative emotions after approximately 7 hours into the mission. However, performance of more complex cognitive tasks may not be degraded in an 11-hours flight mission. Associations between heart rate variability and emotional ratings may indicate levels of physiological arousal. This may contribute to the assessment of overall psychological states of pilots in such context. This comprehensive assessment of pilots’ psychology in this environment may aid in pilots’ preparation and in the planning of long-duration missions.  Taken together, the conclusions of this thesis indicate that a proper use of low- and high-fidelity simulations encourages pilots’ awareness on the necessity in adapting to changing circumstances. This promotes resilience, a fundamental constituent of safety.