Social Situation Awareness: Empathic Accuracy in the Aircraft Cockpit

The present study assesses the innovative concept of empathic accuracy within a crew-aircraft-system in a realistic approach scenario. Empathy, one of the key skills of social situation awareness (SSA), was found to be altered in stressful situations. Challenging and surprising events lead to a decrease in empathic accuracy in both pilot flying and pilot monitoring. Stress therefore significantly impacts SSA and modifications in training, procedures and system design could help crews better manage their workload during surprising and challenging situations, leading to increased empathic accuracy and better crew interaction.