Mental Engineering - A Significant Contribution to Resilience Engineering in Aviation

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Currently, far reaching changes can be noticed at the core of human learning of complex tasks. The share of concrete learning diminishes in favor of digital and virtual learning methods, which offer enormous economical and organizational advantages – however by no means is it clear whether these changes effect solely efficiency, but also optimize the effectiveness of learning processes. These deficits surrounding manual flying skills, which can be observed globally, very clearly point towards these facts. With the learning methods suggested here, the main aim is to reduce the above deficits, by state-of-the-art stress- reducing procedures, as well as the systemic, evidence- and performance- based, virtual optimization of task performance. Mental Engineering (ME) is a psychological training method focused on the professional management of high- workload and emergency situations. It is a novel approach in that it skillfully combines mental practice and stress resilience management, two evidence based methods that have been widely-used in areas like aviation, sports science, business and economy. From a systemic point of view of mental practice can be seen as very effective individual instrument to build up personal resilience as a significant contribution to self- competence and proficiency. Personal resilience in operational context reinforces organizational resilience.

Author

• Scheck, Max Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• digital and virtual learning
• flight training
• stress-reducing procedures
• mental practice
• task performance
• high -workload
• emergency situations
• personal and organizational resilience
• Education
• Social and Behavioral Sciences