Information Processing, Human Error and the Learning Process — Page 164, Lesson 266

Let’s start with the first major category of human error we need to understand: slips. A slip happens when your intent was correct — you knew exactly what you wanted to do — but the execution went wrong. In other words, you had the right plan, but your fingers or your actions didn’t follow it properly. For example, imagine you’re dealing with an emergency, and you reach for the correct drill — the right procedure — but you actually carry it out incorrectly. That’s a slip. The term “slip” can also be referred to as a lapse, so you’ll see those two words used interchangeably in aviation human factors. Next, we have omissions. An omission is simply missing out a step or a process that should have been included. This is especially common in tasks that are highly automatic and well-practised — like reading a checklist. If you’re going through a checklist and you get an unexpected interruption — a radio call, a warning light, a distraction — you’re very likely to skip a step without realising it. That’s an omission. Then we come to violations. Violations can look like human errors on the surface, but they are fundamentally different from slips and lapses. A violation is a deliberate, conscious action that breaks the rules, regulations, or procedures. It’s an intentional “illegal” act — not a mistake in execution or a forgotten step, but a knowing choice to do something you shouldn’t. That distinction is critical in aviation: slips and omissions are unintentional errors; violations are intentional deviations. Now, let’s shift to the learning process. We’ve already talked about acquiring skills and developing them, but the learning process also allows us to gain intellectual advance — not just physical skills, but mental understanding. In its simplest form, learning is an internal process that allows the mental acquisition and retention of data. So it’s about taking information in, storing it, and being able to use it later. There are several types of learning I want to walk you through. First is classical or operant conditioning. This is the behaviouristic approach, most famously associated with Pavlov. The recipient is taught primarily through physiological responses — basically, you learn by associating a stimulus with a response. A real-world aviation example: an experienced pilot’s reaction to a fire warning. That pilot doesn’t have to think through the steps; their body and mind have been conditioned to respond automatically. Second is insight. Here, the data is intellectually and cognitively understood and then retained. You don’t just memorise it — you truly grasp it. For example: a pilot setting up the on-board navigation equipment. They understand why they’re entering certain coordinates and how the system works, not just what buttons to push. Third is observational learning or imitation. This is where you replicate data from an outside source — you watch someone else and copy them. A classic example: a student pilot following through on the controls during an approach with an instructor, and then shortly afterwards executing that same approach on their own. They learned by observing and imitating. Fourth is experience — learning from our mistakes. That one is straightforward: you try something, it goes wrong, and you remember not to do it that way again. Fifth is skill learning. Observational learning, combined with practice, plays a major role here — especially in learning motor programmes, which are the sequences of movements your body learns to perform automatically. Skill learning involves several key ingredients: motivation, attention, observation, much practice, and corrective feedback. You don’t just watch and repeat; you need to be motivated, pay close attention, observe carefully, practise extensively, and get feedback to correct your mistakes. Finally, let’s look at the quality of learning — the factors that affect how well you learn. There are several: - Intellectual capacity of the person receiving the training. - Quality of communication between the transmitter (the instructor) and the recipient (the student). - Applicability of the data — how relevant and useful the information is to the learner. - Motivation of both the transmitter and the recipient. Both sides need to be engaged. - And a very important one: overlearning. Overlearning means carrying the training process beyond what is required to perform to the minimum acceptable level. So you don’t stop practising once you can just barely do the task correctly — you keep going. Overlearning improves your chances of recalling the task later, and it makes your performance more resistant to stress. Under pressure, the overlearned behaviour is much more likely to come through reliably.