Psychometric testing
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Joined: Mar 2020
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From: Earth
Psychometric testing
Heard that there are some higher up GA or even aero med companies now conducting these tests pre employment. They've obviously been in the airlines a while (Jetstar's maybe no so good)- so what are the opinions etc? Do they work or what are they looking for?
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From: UK
I cannot see their worth for selecting pilots, since the tests bear no relation to the flying task.
They test for intelligence, which is fair enough, airlines or aircraft operators do not want to employ dim people. A dim person could have good hand-eye coordination, but a pilot needs also to have intelligence to deal with all the peripheral tasks outside actually flying a plane: fuelling and loading calculations, delay management, team work, knowledge of limitations, procedures, rules and regulations etc.
But when they put very tight time limits on the tests, I am pretty sure that they are being used as a proxy for age. As we get older, our thought processes slow down because, like a computer whose hard disk is nearly full, our thought processing involves going through more memory content than when one is younger.
Age discrimination is illegal in most countries, so I think airlines develop ways of selecting the younger candidates, and I think they do this through tightly timed tests. At one airline, we had to do 25 or so maths questions in 12 minutes, and a similar tight restriction on a verbal comprehension test. One important thing pilots are taught is that in an emergency don't do anything quickly; sit on your hands, assess all the information carefully. DODAR etc.
The only things pilots need to do quickly is get the rudder in to keep straight on the runway during an engine failure; operate the flight controls when landing in a turbulent crosswind, or do an RTO. These are all physical actions, involving hand-eye coordination, not answering maths or verbal questions, or whether you like poetry or guns.
So to have to pass time-limited computer based puzzles and tests cannot be anything to do with pilot ability. They are arguably fair enough for newbies applying for their first jobs, but any pilot with decent experience has proved their psychometric ability already.
They test for intelligence, which is fair enough, airlines or aircraft operators do not want to employ dim people. A dim person could have good hand-eye coordination, but a pilot needs also to have intelligence to deal with all the peripheral tasks outside actually flying a plane: fuelling and loading calculations, delay management, team work, knowledge of limitations, procedures, rules and regulations etc.
But when they put very tight time limits on the tests, I am pretty sure that they are being used as a proxy for age. As we get older, our thought processes slow down because, like a computer whose hard disk is nearly full, our thought processing involves going through more memory content than when one is younger.
Age discrimination is illegal in most countries, so I think airlines develop ways of selecting the younger candidates, and I think they do this through tightly timed tests. At one airline, we had to do 25 or so maths questions in 12 minutes, and a similar tight restriction on a verbal comprehension test. One important thing pilots are taught is that in an emergency don't do anything quickly; sit on your hands, assess all the information carefully. DODAR etc.
The only things pilots need to do quickly is get the rudder in to keep straight on the runway during an engine failure; operate the flight controls when landing in a turbulent crosswind, or do an RTO. These are all physical actions, involving hand-eye coordination, not answering maths or verbal questions, or whether you like poetry or guns.
So to have to pass time-limited computer based puzzles and tests cannot be anything to do with pilot ability. They are arguably fair enough for newbies applying for their first jobs, but any pilot with decent experience has proved their psychometric ability already.
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Perth, Australia
Having worked for a company that did psycometric testng for flight training... its a waste of time if not implemented properly. Because it was a university looking at the data - they were only interested in the score and nothing else. So 2 students that I had who were by far the hardest I have had (Neither of which made it to first solo) got onto the course because, although they were flagged in the interview as not likely to be successful, were entered into the course because they had a perfect score on the aptitude test. Both students were academically very intelligent but could not transfer that to hands on flying.
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From: Earth
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From: Somewhere
It's generally a filter for HR and lines the pocket of people like Kirsty from Pinstripes. Once you start buying ways to cheat the test, they're virtually useless.
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: UK
Time is taken to correctly and calmly identify a failed engine for example or feather the correct prop. Even a TCAS or GPWS escape manoeuvre or a go-around should not be rushed, just performed properly and calmly.
I suspect that HR people - not being pilots - go by what they see in films and believe that pilots should fly the way they did in Top Gun, and other aircraft disaster movies.
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Sydney
But when they put very tight time limits on the tests, I am pretty sure that they are being used as a proxy for age. As we get older, our thought processes slow down because, like a computer whose hard disk is nearly full, our thought processing involves going through more memory content than when one is younger.
The ageing process of the brain has nothing to do with the fact you have 'more memory content'.
Psychometric testing looks at one aspect of a pilots competencies. It doesn't claim that it covers them all, so your example where people 'aced the test' but couldn't fly is a meaningless straw man.
Originally Posted by Uplinker
The only things pilots need to do quickly is get the rudder in to keep straight on the runway during an engine failure; operate the flight controls when landing in a turbulent crosswind, or do an RTO. These are all physical actions, involving hand-eye coordination, not answering maths or verbal questions, or whether you like poetry or guns.
The only things? Really? So when we get an ECAM/equivalent at V1 - 20kts you've got all the time in the world to assess, analyze and make a critical decision do you? Personally, if I'm sitting in the hold over my recently closed destination on min fuel looking for alternates, maybe with weather, I'm happier sitting next to someone who can quickly do the math, rather than old mate who wants to sit on his hands because a bit of time pressure buckles his/her/its ability to do the 3 times tables.
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From: Here
Personally, if I'm sitting in the hold over my recently closed destination on min fuel looking for alternates, maybe with weather, I'm happier sitting next to someone who can quickly do the math, rather than old mate who wants to sit on his hands because a bit of time pressure buckles his/her/its ability to do the 3 times tables.
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From: Singaporelah not any more
Many yrs ago when i joined the RAAF, One cadet aced ground school and then bombed out in the first stages of flying, taught us a lesson. 20 yrs later i did a stanine test in the US for World Airways , 4 guys failed, all Irish and they were all good operators. We all reckoned they failed on the low side and HR got rid of them. In the nineties i flew with a bloke who was a genius, IQ through the roof, failed every attempt at Command.
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From: Sydney
I need to hear more about this.
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: UK
As for your mate not being able to do the three times table........... huh ?
And are you telling us that you don't do DODAR or anything in emergencies; you just make a snap decision?I think Stationair8 has given us the real reason for psychometric testing.
Nunc est bibendum
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From: Sydney, Australia
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No, I don't carry alternate fuel for every destination regardless of weather however there are exceptions. That's where prudent planning comes in. Anyway, enough of the thread drift.