Some Other Hazardous Attitudes [1]
https://www.tripsavvy.com/saving-face-and-losing-face-1458303
Personality can play a large
part in the manner in which hazards are appraised. Veillette (2006) debated the
possibility of an accident-prone pilot and found that pilots fitting into this
category exhibited five traits closely linked to the original five hazardous
attitudes. These were:
(1) disdain toward rules, (2)
high correlation between accidents in their flying records and safety
violations in their driving records, (3) frequently falling into the
personality category of thrill and adventure seeking, (4) impulsive
rather than methodical and disciplined in information gathering and in the
speed and actions taken, and (5) disregard for or underutilization of outside
sources of information, including copilots, flight attendants, flight service
station personnel, flight instructors, and air traffic controllers. (FAA, 2009,
p. 2-4)
Each of the previously mentioned
traits somewhat correspond to the five hazardous attitudes: (1) Anti-authority,
(2) Macho, (3) Invulnerability, (4) Impulsivity, and (5) Resignation.
The Possibility of a Sixth Hazardous
Attitude
Murray (1999) suggested a sixth
hazardous attitude called Fear of Loss of Face. According to Goffman
(1955), face is the “positive social value a person effectively claims for
himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular
contact" (p. 213). In other words, it is the interpretation a person has
about how others view him or her. When a person assumes a self-image, expressed
as face, he or she will attempt to maintain that face or image using the
following strategies (p. 404):
• Avoiding the initiation of
social contacts and seeking the safety of solitude (Goffman, 1955, 1967).
• Sacrificing tangible rewards
to avoid looking foolish (Brown & Garland, 1971).
• The concealing of anxieties,
to avoid being ridiculed or censured (Brown, 1970).
• In extreme cases, retreating
permanently from potential face-losing situations and even committing suicide
(Bond & Hwang, 1986).
Fear of Loss of Face has been recognized to have potential negative
effects on human behavior (Murray, 1999). When a person is embarrassed or looks
foolish they have experienced a Loss of Face. Murray argues that, at the
individual level, Fear of Loss of Face is exemplified when a pilot receives a
perplexing ATC instruction and prefers to remain silent to avoid being judged
as incompetent. At the group level, aviation crews are looked at as good
communities, and any person who casts uncertainties or has doubts may be shamed
or ridiculed.
[1] Velázquez,
Jonathan, "Behavioral Traps in Flight Crew-Related 14 CFR Part 121 Airline
Accidents" (2016). Dissertations and Theses. 193.
https://commons.erau.edu/edt/193
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Scholarly Commons
Citation
