Examining the Relationship between Familiarity and Reliability of Automation in the Cockpit

This study sought to determine the correlation between familiarity and perceptions of reliability, as associated to specific aviation-related automated devices. Participants’ experience levels ranged from non-pilots to novice pilots to certified flight instructors. It was hypothesized that familiarity has a direct correlation with ratings of reliability for various aviation-related automated devices and that the correlation across devices for each participant would be positive. The researchers expected to find a difference in the familiarity-reliability relationship as a function of experience. Findings showed that there was a significant positive correlation between familiarity and reliability for every single automated device. A positive correlation across automated devices for 87% of the participants was also found. Interestingly, the study did not find any relationship between experience and the  familiarity-reliability relationship.