Research On Influence Factors Of Fighter's Cognitive Ability

Objective: fighter's pilots as a special group took an important rolein safeguarding a country's dominion and territorial integrity. Pilot's cognitive ability was the main composition in flight performance. Pilots faced higher cognitive load with the improvement of fighter's automatic degree. According to some related literature home and abroad, factors such as age, culture level and smoking influenced on the common group's cognitive ability. But since pilots were trained specially, they were quite different from the common group. Similar study were rare about whether these factors would influence on their cognitive ability. Moreover age was often considered as the main research factor. Therefore it was necessary to study whether and how factors such as service time, kind of airplane, flight hours and smoking associated with pilots closely would influence oncognitive ability. The study provided basis for improving scientific management and flight performance through analyzing different factors effected on pilot's cognitive ability.Method: 92 fighter's pilots comparing simulated scales(CSS),distinguishing direction (DD), distinguishing special graph (DSG) ,numerical span memorized and added (NSMA) .four arabic digits addition (FADA) and dual task (DT) were measured by means of paper and pencil test and man-computer dialogue. Age, smoking and other research factors were collected by questionaire. Correlative analysis, one-way test analysis, covariates ANOVA, f-test and Duncan's test were conducted by software SPSS.Results:1. Age had a significant influence on CSS, DSG, NSMA, FADA, and DT. Pilots' board identification ability and pilots' image rotating ability was significantly decreased after 36 years old. So did dual task ability after 39 years old. Quick calculation ability was significantly decreased after 39 years old.2. Smoking years had a significant influence on DT and FADA before testing. Pilots' dual performance was significantly decreased after smoking years arrived at 20 years. Pilots' quick calculation ability was decreased with the shortening of smoking time before measurement.3. Service years had a significant influence on DSG, FADA and DT; type of airplane on DSG; flight hours on DSG, FADA and DT. Pilots'image rotating ability in J-7 were superior to those in SU-27. Pilots image rotating ability was decreased with the increase of flight hours; Quick calculation and dual task ability was significantly decreased after 1400 hours'flight.Conclusion :Age was main factor enfluenced on fighter pilots cognitive ability. Smoking years, smoking before test, service years, flight hours, type of airplan had a significant influence on fighter pilots cognitive ability.