Motor Abilities and Psychological Characteristics of Slovene Military Pilots

Abstract

In our study, we aimed to determine which tests differentiate Slovene military pilots from control groups (general population, sports pilots, and soldiers), and produced a profile of a military pilot, which is an important factor for military pilot selection. Indeed the performance of a pilot also depends on a pilot's motor abilities, his or her personality profile, and his or her stress coping style. We administered some motoric tests, some of the tests in the Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac series, the Big Five personality questionnaire, and a stress coping questionnaire called the Coping Responses Inventory. The analysis of variance was used to test research aims. SPSS 16.0 was used to analyze the data. The results show that the special characteristics of military pilots include better emotion control, a higher level of emotional stability, extrovertedness, and higher impulse control. Slovene military pilots use strategies focused on a problem, they cope with problem situations effectively, and they have shorter reaction times on the test of spatial coordination. The research findings can be used to determine specific criteria for high-quality military pilot selection and to provide directions for development in this field.