Interactions With Technology in the Cockpit

Abstract: Technological advancements have resulted in significant safety benefits in commercial aviation; however, in general aviation their adoption has been somewhat slow. It is therefore important to understand how pilots interact with technology, particularly in general aviation. This study explored whether the affect heuristic influenced pilots’ perceptions of the benefits and risks of five cockpit technologies available in general aviation, with a particular focus on technologies that may assist weather-related decision-making. Evidence from a series of scenario-based tasks suggests that the perceived risks and benefits of the technology were associated with pilot affect, whereby positive feelings toward a given technology were associated with a lower perceived risk, such as accidentally flying into adverse weather, and higher perceived benefits, such as helping to maintain control while completing concurrent tasks. Findings also suggest that affect and perceived risks can be manipulated by negatively framed prior information. The practical implications of the effect of the affect heuristic on the successful introduction of new technologies and the promotion of safety initiatives in general are discussed.