Personality types of pilot students: A study of an Australian collegiate aviation program

Abstract

Many studies have explored personality types of civil and military pilots, however research into pilot students currently or recently undertaking flight training is relatively limited. By using the Australian Personality Inventory (API) as the survey instrument, this study explored personality scales of the pilot student cohort pursing academic degrees and flying qualifications in an Australian collegiate aviation program, and compared personality types of aviation students to non-aviation students. Results of the current study found that Agreeableness (A) and Conscientiousness (C) are the two most dominant personality scales for pilot students, accounting for over 60% of sample. The study also found that Neuroticism (N) is the only scale among five API personality scales that statistically significant difference can be found between pilot students and non-pilot students.

Authors

• Gao, Yi Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Kong, Stephen Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Personality types
• collegiate aviation
• Australian Personality Inventory
• Personality and Social Contexts