Effects of mindfulness training on decision-making in critical and high-demand situations: A pilot study in combat aviation

The current study investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based training program (Attentional Regulation Optimization) on decision-making in an elite population operating in a highly-demanding context, namely the actions of fighter pilots in critical flight situations that lead to ejection. Our hypothesis was that both mindfulness skills and decision-making performance would improve in pilots who participated in the ARO program (n = 7), compared to a control group (n = 8). Mindfulness skills were measured with the FFMQ-15. Decision-making performance was evaluated in two tests that were implemented in scenarios in a full flight simulator. Five dependent variables were assessed, corresponding to the phases of the decision-making process when faced with an in-flight failure: reaction time after the first failure input, correctness of the first action, emergency procedure score, ejection procedure score, and quality of ejection. Adherence to the ARO program was assessed with the number of out-of-class individual mindfulness sessions and the number of out-of-class body-mind scans. No statistically significant improvement in mindfulness skills for the ARO group compared to the control group were found. Reaction time was significantly shortened for the ARO group compared to the control group—but only for complex failures. A positive effect on the correctness of the first action was also found. On the other hand, ARO training had no significant effect on the downstream phases of decision-making (emergency procedure score, ejection procedure score and quality of ejection). Given the small sample size, these results must be considered with caution. However, they open up interesting avenues for future work, notably with regard to the benefits of mindfulness training on perceptual and attentional skills (to detect flight failure cues) and cognitive control skills (to diagnose and select appropriate procedures). From an operational perspective, the program appears to have beneficial effects on safety and performance in elite populations who must face critical situations.