The psychological effects of constant evaluation on airline pilots : an exploratory study

The basis of this study is a dissertation presented to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of bachelor of psychology (honours) at the University of Malta. The original unpublished dissertation is dated April 2003. The dissertation and this article were supervised by the second author of this article, Mary Anne Lauri.Commercial air line pilots are among the most frequently trained, evaluated, and monitored professionals. This study uses the phenomenological methodology to explore the psychological effects of constant evaluation on airline pilots. Interviews were conducted with 7 male airline pilots. The psychological effects of constant evaluation are described through the themes elicited from participants' subjective experiences as: (a) permanent pressure in pilots' professional and private lives, (b) an experiential process that changes as pilots age and gain more job experience, and (c) diminished trust among organizational members. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for further research suggested.peer-reviewe