A Comparative Study of the Effects of Social Stress on the Decision-Making Process of Male and Female Airline Pilots

Pilot judgement and decision-making ability are critical components of the safety of the air transportation system. Although pilot judgement and decision-making has been identified as significant recurring causal factors in air transportation accidents, and the trend toward non-gender specific occupations has resulted in an increase in the level of female participation in the predominantly male pilot population, only a minimal amount of research has been conducted to explore the significance of gender in aeronautical decision-making. A survey instrument was distributed to a representative sample of male and female airline pilots to obtain data to measure the influence of social stress in fostering biased decision-making in the air carrier environment. The research concluded that certain significant differences do exist with regard to gender in determining susceptibility to the influence of social stress in aeronautical decision-making.