A Comparative Study of Psychophysiological Reactions During Simulator and Real Flight

During selection tests in a flight simulator and a real aircraft, physiological workload measures were evaluated. The selection context guaranteed high motivation in the participant to exert additional effort during difficult flight tasks. The aim of the study was to obtain information about the sensitivity to mental effort of several physiological measures and to explore the applicability of these measures in real flight. The following measures were used: heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration (frequency and amplitude), blood pressure, eye blinks (frequency, duration, and amplitude), and saliva cortisol. Blood pressure was the only measure that was difficult to obtain during real flights.

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