Use of Personality Assessment Measures in the Selection of Air Traffic Control Specialists

Civil Aerospace Medical Institute2003PDFTech ReportKing, R ERetzlaff, P DDetwiler, C ASchroeder, D JBroach, D.United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUniversity of Northern Colorado, Psychology DepartmentUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace MedicineUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical InstituteUnited StatesAir traffic controlAir traffic controllersAssessmentsAviationPersonalityPersonnel developmentPersonnel performancePsychometricsTrainingPsychological testsSelection and appointmentPersonality testsPsychometricsDOT/FAA/AM-03/20Three studies illustrate the uses of personality assessment methods for selection of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control specialists (ATCSs). Study 1, using a select-out approach to the problems of screening, compared the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) results with NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) results from 122 student ATCS participants. Results suggest that the current approach to personality assessment during the initial medical examination focuses primarily on the extent to which the applicant reports symptoms consistent with neurotic, inefficient, and perhaps argumentative characteristics. The remaining two studies consider select-in strategies looking at the psychometric issues of reliability, specificity, and validity. Study 2 examined the NEO PI-R along with the Experiences Questionnaire (EQ) subtests of the Air Traffic-Selection and Training (AT-SAT) battery scores. Participants included 142 students in the ATCS training program at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City, OK. That sample, in combination with an additional 99 participants who took only AT-SAT, allowed for the examination of the characteristics of the EQ itself. Scores on the eight subtests of the EQ were found to be moderately to highly intercorrelated, ranging from .53 to .81. A principal component analysis revealed only one major underlying factor for the EQ, accounting for 69.22 % of the variance. The overall EQ correlated most notably with the NEO PI-R domains of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Finally, Study 3 examined one of the more recent personality measures to be used for personnel research, the Armstrong Laboratory Aviation Personality Survey (ALAPS). A total of 121 students at the FAA Academy completed both the ALAPS and AT-SAT. Scores on the ALAPS Depression scale were negatively correlated with scores on the composite AT-SAT, and scores on the Organization scale were positively correlated with scores on AT-SAT, suggesting that there may be dimensions of the ALAPS that are related to the overall skills and abilities required for individuals to achieve success as ATCSs. This review affords the reader an appreciation of the uses and history of personality assessment, both select-out and select-in, in FAA ATCS selection. The FAA is continually evaluating cognitive, as well as personality, measures as part of its selection procedures.120