An approach to prediction of mental resilience in fighter pilot selection

It is well known that human factors are associated with a substantial number of military aviation accidents (de Hoyos, 2019).To avoid such catastrophic events, continuous enhancement of pilot selection processes using state-of-the-art scientific research results is needed since traditionally used self-report paper-and-pencil personality measures are highly prone to self-report bias (Birkeland et al., 2006). Based on our multidisciplinary research so far on stress and cognitive resilience we propose an approach for prediction of mental resilience which is based on multimodal measurements and related stress resilience features like startle reactivity, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, cardiac allostasis, as well as cognitive resilience features related to cognitive appraisal, cognitive overload, performance, attention, and fatigue. These features mainly reflect interactions between limbic and prefrontal structures of the human brain and their fusion may provide assessment of pilots’ mental resilience and combat readiness.