Negative transfer of training

Negative transfer of training: Simulator study into the effects of overruled pilot decision making

Landman, A.
Mol, D.
van Emmerik, M.L.
van Groen, E.L.

2023

In this simulator study, we investigated the potential negative transfer of training that may result from situations where a correct decision made by the trainee is being overruled by the instructor to save training time. We hypothesized that discarding a correct decision in a training situation can introduce confusion when the trainee encounters a similar situation in operational practice. The experiment was performed in a fixed-base simulator of a twin-engine business jet. Two groups of 19 commercial pilots participated in a training session consisting of four training scenarios, immediately followed by a test session with four other test scenarios. Whereas in the “control” group the training scenarios were presented as briefed, the pilots in the experimental, or “overruled” group included some events (e.g., an enhanced ground proximity warning (EGPWS)) which required a response. However, the instructor directed the pilots to refrain from the response. It was expected that pilots in the overruled group were more likely to show delayed response or even ignore alarms in the test scenarios. The objective results showed no significant effect of the training manipulation on the performance of the pilots in the test scenarios involving the same type of events as the overruled group had encountered during the training. However, according to the subjective results, 32% of the participating pilots stated that they had been confused during the test, and that the training influenced their decision making. Within the limits of this study, these findings are an indication of negative transfer of training.

Training
Simulation
Decision-making
Pilots

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e9599769-15c7-47a4-bc0e-184649e21071

981537

TNO 2023 R10152

Federal Aviation Administration ; TNO, New Jersey ; Soesterberg

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