Are you trying to prove the article is correct? If you are a pilot, perhaps you have done so…
Folks, there is no such thing as “emotional intelligence”. Clinical psychologists assign such qualities to the various personality traits. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Developing “tests” to check for EI is, in fact, nonsense.
The issue will become problematic if employees of the insurance industry and/or interventionist nonparticipants try to manufacture risks where there are none, due to nonconformity with norms which they, and nobody else, have agreed to.
C’mon guys! Lets get to basics. Humans, as well as other mammals process information, both internal and external, from the lower brain centers (i.e. the emotional parts) up to the cold and rational parts (the frontal cortex). Think of math and course plotting. The problems with this are twofold. First, 40 to 60 percent of all humans have been subjected to “adverse childhood events”, that is something or other, one experience or the ongoing environment, affected how your brain was built and operates in an adverse way. Second, even if you happen to be the lucky 40 to 60 percent who had a rather ideal childhood, you still process information from the lower levels on up, that is through your lower brain centers to your higher brain centers. Emotional intelligence simply means the ability to recognize emotions and not to act on them without thinking. Translated to pilots, that means in part, pilots are less likely to freak out when things get weird. However, also translated to pilots, that means that things that should be frightening, are ignored…like taking off when the weather is lousy, or pushing on when you’re fatigued, or when the destination conditions have changed for the worse, or you act on the impulse of “let me show you this!”, or you let your cheapness prevent you from spending the large amounts of money needed to keep your aircraft in absolutely pristine condition…because your life depends on it.
Please keep in mind that by far “human factors” are the leading cause of GA accidents. GA accidents are a major issue. Understanding pilots is helpful for formulating training and regulations that are less intrusive and more effective.
Logic wins the day over emotional distractions.
Not a bad thought, but at some point don’t you have to look at what we are doing and think maybe it’s time to try something different? I’m constantly confused by the ability of humans to keep doing the same things expecting better results.
With a half century of near stand still in piston aircraft engines, limited improvement in the owner pilot, and a major loss in the percentage of humans desiring to fly themselves around, perhaps a bit of upgrade under the cowling should be a priority?
We have improved the airframe and the panel both to good effect in my opinion.
I don’t know about the semantics, but I can assure you that some people are better at handling the emotions of themselves and others with more skill. Call it what you want, but I wish I had more skill in those areas.
I wonder if whoever did this study compared irregular sleep patterns experienced by most professional pilots compared to the more regular sleep opportunities of the general population. Seems like subtle fatigue factors could affect emotional or any other kind of intelligence.
If the potential of electric aircraft could be realized, the resulting fault tolerance would eliminate most engine failure accidents. The current technology is at a stage of development similar to the early days of aviation, with a similar range of good to silly ideas. Just as R&D propelled aviation to practicality, I expect R&D to eventually result in practical electric aircraft. Are they ready for prime time now? Of course not. But incremental step-wise improvements in battery and other technology continue.
LOL. Where’s the upvote button?
Spot on!
Another ‘egg-head’ study. Perfect for the resume of someone like ‘The Professor’ on Gilligan’s Island. Oh, liberal academia, what are we to do with you?
“The results indicated that pilots scored consistently lower than their counterparts in global trait EI, as well as three of its four factors: well-being, emotionality and sociability. For the fourth factor, self-control, no significant differences were identified.”
It makes sense. One has to understand the social patterns in the U.S. and different cultures abroad. Yes, there is definitely differences. Now, it’s not easy to ask people to look and understand what goes on in its own eyes. Interesting article to maybe start a debate about the significance of these differences. I would suggest for those interested in undertanding more about it to read and check studies from Jordan Peterson. He is master in understanding "people’s minds’ " : )
Also, how many of those 44 pilots were male vs female?
Back in the early days of the manned space program, medical testing nearly identical to the testing that was done on the astronauts selected for the Mercury program was performed on a group of women. In some cases, those tests showed that women were superior than men, particularly in what could be called “emotional intelligence”, and which would actually make them more suitable for long-term missions.
So there is quite a bit of interesting information that can be learned from further study. It might even lead to improvements in training that could help pilots.
Read pilot-oriented social media or fora, and these findings are quickly confirmed! Many pilots could use a healthy dose of self-awareness with regard to EI.
Sample size of 44 and a subjective study? Hmmmmmm
According to Navy personnel files, more than 80% of modern jet fighter pilots are left handed, a trait that goes along with others that make lefties more desirable in those cockpits. What is the effect of handedness on such studies and reported outcomes?
What’s this about again?
The current comments here being a perfect example, yes.