The Effect of Vocal Tone of Feedback on Student Pilot Performance

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines the effect of “tone of feedback” on student pilot flight performance. Background Corrective feedback is primarily given verbally in flight training to facilitate trainee pilot performance. Such feedback can be provided using different vocal tones (i.e., positive, neutral, negative). How the effectiveness of the feedback varies based on changes in vocal tone remains unknown. Methods Thirty-eight student pilots completed two simulated flights, both involving a right-hand circuit. Following the first flight, the student pilots listened to prerecorded verbal feedback in either a positive, neutral or negative tone about their flight performance, in terms of mean altitude during the downwind leg. Deviation from the target altitude during downwind in the second flight was examined. Self-efficacy and self-esteem were also measured to examine their mediating effect. Results The results revealed that student pilots who received a positive tone of feedback performed significantly worse than pilots who received neutral or negative tones of feedback. No mediating effects were found for self-efficacy or self-esteem. Conclusion These findings provide aviation authorities and training organizations insight into the effect of tone of feedback on trainee pilots’ performance. Understanding this effect has the potential to improve student pilot learning outcomes and performance.