| Processes of expert decision making were examined in this study in the context of the air transport flight deck, an environment demanding informed and expedient judgments in a small-group setting. It was hypothesized that the decision-making strategies that would be utilized by these experts, as reflected by patterns of information search and transfer, would be intuitive and recognitional, rather than analytical, and would be characterized by extensive and continual situation assessment, and serial, if any, evaluation of alternatives; and that the personality of the crew leader (Captain) would have an effect on information transfer and decision making during critical flight periods.;NASA videotapes of twenty-three professional flight crews completing simulated abnormal flight segments (i.e., containing equipment malfunctions and/or weather complications) were coded with respect to the transfer of relevant informational items, and the generation or discussion of decision alternatives. Captains of each crew were classified prior to the simulation according to clusters of personality traits, defined primarily in terms of instrumentality (goal orientation) and expressivity (group orientation). Performance measures utilized included check-pilot (expert) observer ratings of crew performance (also referred to as Crew Coordination ratings), and the number and severity of operational errors.;Results indicated that crews were utilizing non-analytical, recognitional strategies to make critical decisions in flight. Additionally, information relevant to situational assessment was gathered throughout the flight, and the quality and timing of information transfer were related to performance. Leader personality was found to be related to group process elements in decision making (e.g., the source and distribution of information among crewmembers), and also seemed to be associated with the propensity to assume responsibility for important decisions. Additionally, the variables of information transfer and personality were found to be relatively independent predictors of performance; and the combination of the variables of information transfer and personality was able to explain more than 50% of the variance in Crew Coordination and in the number of major, operationally significant errors. |
