Individual Differences and Interpersonal Relationships — Page 238, Lesson 386

I want to walk you through a set of important concepts about how people behave in groups — specifically on the flight deck. These are part of individual differences and interpersonal relationships, and they directly affect crew coordination and safety. Let’s start with compliance. This is the term used to describe an individual’s likelihood of complying with a request. The key idea here is that the size and sequence of requests matter. If a large and unreasonable request is made, there is a greater likelihood of it being complied with if it has been preceded either by an even more outrageous request that has been denied, or if a smaller, more reasonable request has already been accepted. Let me give you the example from the book. Imagine a householder whose house is on a dangerous bend in the road. He may refuse a request to have a large warning notice on his property. However, if he had first allowed a very small notice to be on the site, he would more readily accept a larger warning notice when told that the small notice was not readable at a reasonable distance. A succession of seemingly small increases in the sign size could eventually reach the stage where the originally requested size of sign is in position. Alternatively, if the original request was for a massive sign, he could well accept a large sign, having turned down the first request. So compliance can be shaped by the sequence of requests — either starting small and building up, or starting with something outrageous and then scaling back. Now let’s move to status and obedience. The role of status in group decision making is of major importance. People will be more ready to listen to, and believe and obey, those whom they perceive to be of a higher status. This can be demonstrated by giving a problem to groups of varying status. Although the high status individuals may achieve the correct answer only as often as those of medium or low status, those of high status who do get the correct answer are able to persuade a higher percentage of their group to accept their answer. Those of lower status, although getting the correct answer, will be less successful in persuading their group to accept their answer. So status doesn’t make you more likely to be right — it makes you more likely to be believed and obeyed, even when you are right. Next is persuasion. This should rarely be used in the cockpit. If differences of opinion cannot be solved by airing the problem and coming to a logical conclusion, the group cannot be said to be working effectively. Occasionally, if a fact has been overlooked by the rest of the group, persuasion has its role. However, it normally has negative connotations within a team. So persuasion is not the preferred tool — open discussion and logical conclusion are the goal. Finally, we have risky shift. If a group is asked to consider a problem, they will usually come to a decision that is more risky than the average made by individual group members. This tendency is known as risky shift, and it can obviously create problems on the flight deck. Many pilots like to be thought of as bold or daring individuals, and combining such individuals into a crew can make for an unduly bold outcome. Two possible reasons may explain risky shift. First, the spread or diffusion of responsibility for any adverse consequences of a decision involving risk. In other words, blame is shared amongst all members of the group. Second, individuals who hold high risk attitudes tend to be more dominant and persuasive in the group, assuming a leadership role. They thus have a disproportionate influence over their fellow members. So to summarise: compliance depends on the sequence of requests; status makes people more likely to be obeyed even if they aren’t more correct; persuasion should be used sparingly in the cockpit; and risky shift means groups tend to make bolder, riskier decisions than individuals would on their own. These are all factors you need to be aware of as a professional pilot, because they influence how your crew functions.