Aviation Psychology - Case Study Example

Introduction Applicable during the flight, the term “air rage” is commonly used when describing disruptive behaviours among the airline passengers (Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews, 2003). In general, disruptive behaviour shown by airline passengers is one of the main concerns in the field of tourism (Rhoden, Ralston and Ineson, 2008). In fact, “air rage” is considered as one of the most serious problems within the global airline industry (Hunter, 2006). In general, “air rage” is a good example of workplace violence (Akgeyik, 2011). Aside from causing psychological stress to affected airline passengers, “air rage” can lead to serious physical injuries caused by physical aggression (Smart and Mann, 2003). As a result, there have been cases wherein hundreds of other airline passengers can be stranded onboard (Birtchnell & Buscher, 2011). Eventually, this kind of situation can result to delays in the next flight schedules. The incidence of “air rage” can result to a significant decline in the quality of airline customer service (Hunter, 2006). As explained by Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews (2003), the cases of “air rage” are actually preventable. To be able to identify and come up with effective strategies that can be use in managing or preventing “air rage”, it is necessary to first identify factors that can normally trigger disruptive behaviour amongst the airline passengers. Factors that Causes Disruptive Behaviour amongst Airline Passengers There are quite a lot of factors that can trigger disruptive behaviours amongst the airline passengers. After analyzing a total of 29 “air rage” cases, Smart and Mann (2003) found out that excessive intake of alcohol and cigarette smoking are among the few precipitating factors of disruptive behaviour. Several studies identified alcohol consumption as the leading cause of “air rage” (Girasek and Olsen, 2009; Anglin et al., 2003). In line with this, Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews (2003) mentioned that alcohol consumption can trigger at least 40% of all “air rage” cases. Even though 84% of 1,548 adults would refrain from conuming alcoholic beverages onboard, Girasek and Olsen (2009) found out that airline passengers who are travelling with friends on First Class or Business Class seats are the ones who are most likely to drink alcoholic beverages while onboard for long flights. Aside from alcohol consumption, the use of substance abuse can also trigger the development of violent behaviour (Friedman, Melnick, Jiang and Hamilton, 2008; Stuart, 2003). Environmental stress and mental instability are also some of the common factors that can trigger disruptive behaviour (Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews, 2003). Instead of mental instability, Smart and Mann (2003) considered mental illnesses as a potential factor that can result to disruptive behavior onboard. In the study of psychology, disruptive behavior can be linked to mental health disorders like schizophrenia (Montanes-Rada, Ramirez and De Lucas Taracena, 2006; Mullen, 2006) or mood disorders like severe bipolar disorders (Neslihan Inal-Eiroglu, Ozerdem and Akay, 2008). In line with this, Neslihan Inal-Eiroglu, Ozerdem and Akay (2008) explained that people with bipolar disorders have higher risks of experiencing servere depression, the use of illegal substance, involved in misconduct, and higher levels of anxiety. After examining the relationship between psychopathy and disruptive behavior, Hildebrand, de Ruiter and Nijman (2004) found out that psychopaths are most likely to be involved in “verbal abuse, verbal threats, and physical violence” as compared to non-psychopaths. Other than mental illness or mental disorders and the use of illegal substances, other common determinants of physical violence include “young and male” individuals with very “low socioeconomic status” in life (Montanes-Rada, Ramirez and De Lucas Taracena, 2006, p. 930). There are cases wherein psychological disorders can be traced based on the present of biological disorders. For instance, people with borderline personality disorder often have abnormalities in their anterior cingulate cortex (Whittle et al., 2009). In another study, Chanen et al. (2008) found out that people with borderline personality disorder have significant reduction in the volume of hippocampal and amygdala. In general, people with mental health problems such as anti-social disorder, borderline personality disorder, or schizophrenia are the ones who are most likely to be involved in “impulsive violence” (Montanes-Rada, Ramirez and De Lucas Taracena, 2006, p. 930). Therefore, technically speaking, there is nothing much a cabin crew or the airline staff can do each time a person with mental health problems show disruptive behavior. Even though people with mental or psychiatric disorders can safely travel by air under a stable mental health condition, Gordon, Kingham and Goodwin (2004) explained that people who are mentally ill should be accompanied by someone who is mentall fit and can provide the patient with immediate medication to calm them each time they project disruptive behavior onboard. In general, the ability of a person to solve social-related problems and self-esteem has something to do with aggression. After examining the link between the ability of a person to solve social-related problems and self-esteem with aggression among a total of 205 college students, D'zurilla, Chang and Sanna (2003) found out that having a relatively low levels of self-esteem is one factor that can increase the risk of a person to experience hostility and anger whereas the inability of a person to solve social-related problems is linked to hostility, anger, and physical aggression. It simply means that anger and self-esteem can fully act as a go-between by the inability of a person to solve problems (D'zurilla, Chang and Sanna, 2003). In almost all cases, stress can strongly be related to higher levels of anxiety and depression; and that both anxiety and depression are some of the major components of psychological distress (Mushtaq and Najam, 2014). Furthermore, high levels of stress can also trigger anger and verbal aggression (Bodenmann et al., 2010). After investigating the relationship between migraine and post-traumatic stress disorder, Karsikaya et al. (2013) found out that the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder is higher among people with migraine and that people with post-traumatic stress disorder are the ones who often show signs of anger. There is a very close relationship between emotional intelligence and the ability of a person to effectively manage stress (Ramesar, Koortzen and Oosthuizen, 2009; King and Gardner, 2006). In line with this, Ramesar, Koortzen and Oosthuizen (2009) revealed that a person’s ability to manage stress is basically one of the most basic parts of emotional intelligence; and that stress can be an input or end-result of a person’s emotional intelligence. Furthermore, King and Gardner (2006) made a confirmation that the ability of a person to self-manage their emotions can play a significant role when it comes to their ability to manage work-related stress. Effective Strategies that can be used in Managing or Preventing “Air Rage” “Air rage” can be considered as one of the external threats that can negatively affect the aviation industry (Akgeyik, 2011). In reality, there are quite a lot of useful and effective strategies that can be considered when managing or preventing “air rage”. In line with this, Chang and Liao (2009) found out that the process of increasing the cabin crews’ knowledge on safety issues can positively affect the behaviour of the airline passengers. Therefore, aside from being able to learn more about the underlying factors that can trigger disruptive behaviours onboard, it is necessary to extend useful training programmes to cabin crews (Rhoden, Ralston and Ineson, 2008)and the rest of the airline staff (Smart and Mann, 2003). It is part of the duty and responsibilities of the cabin crews to create new strategies that could work well in terms of managing disruptive behaviors amongst the airline passengers (Akgeyik, 2011). Since the cabin crews are the front liners in dealing with airline passengers onboard (Akgeyik, 2011; Rhoden, Ralston and Ineson, 2008), Rhoden, Ralston and Ineson (2008) strongly suggest the need to extend necessary training programmes to cabin crews particularly on how they can effectively control and manage airline passengers’ disruptive behaviour. In another related studies, Smart and Mann (2003) strongly suggest that these types of training programmes should be extended to all airline staff. In the process of going through a series of training intervention, Rhoden, Ralston and Ineson (2008) explained that the cabin crew can increase their knowledge and practical skills when trying to defuse “air rage”. Training programmes that will be extended to the cabin crews and the rest of the airline staffs should be based on empirical studies. For example, alcohol consumption can increase the airline passengers’ risks of developing disruptive behaviour onboard (Girasek and Olsen, 2009; Anglin et al., 2003). Therefore, the cabin crews and the rest of the airline staffs should be informed about the need to control the selling or giving out free alcohol drinks to airline passengers while waiting inside the airport vicinity and after boarding the aircrafts (Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews, 2003). Similar to alcoholic drinks, the use of illegal substances or substance abuse can also increase the airline passengers’ risks of developing disruptive behaviour onboard (Friedman, Melnick, Jiang and Hamilton, 2008; Stuart, 2003). For this reason, it is necessary to inform the cabin crews and the rest of the airline staff about the need to prohibit the use and bringing of illegal substances within the vicinity of the airport and aircrafts. According to Morgan and Nickson (2001), “air rage”, physical violence, or disruptive behaviours are directed to cabin crews and airline staff. Therefore, the training programmes should also consider how the cabin crews and airline staff could protect themselves against aggressive behaviour and violence. Whether environmental or non-environmental, stress in general can trigger disruptive behaviour like verbal aggression (Mushtaq and Najam, 2014; Bodenmann et al., 2010; Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews, 2003). In some cases, high levels of physical and psychological stress can make people feel angry and cause them to show aggressive behaviour (Karsikaya et al., 2013; Bodenmann et al., 2010; D'zurilla, Chang and Sanna, 2003). Unsatisfied customers can easily feel angry. Therefore, one of the best ways to effectively reduce the incidence of aggressive behaviour amongst the airline passengers is to educate the cabin crews and airline staff on how to make the customers satisfied with the airline services they received from the airline company. To effectively manage angry customers, a significant part of the training programme should include the application of effective stress management. Often times, this includes strategic ways how to effectively reduce environmental stress within the airport and aircrafts. Conclusion and Recommendations Among the common causes of “air rage” include alcohol consumption, the use of illegal substances, the presence of environmental and non-environmental stressors, and mental health disorders. Alcohol consumption is one of the most common factors that can trigger “air rage”. Therefore, on top of totally banning the use and carrying of illegal substances, airline staffs as well as the cabin crews should effectively manage and control the availability of alcoholic drinks inside the airports and aircrafts (Anglin, Neves, Giesbrecht and Kobus-Matthews, 2003). As a common knowledge, airports are full of environmental stressors such as being exposed to excessive noise and psychological distress caused by the crowd, a sudden change in the flight schedule and the need to locate for the boarding gate (Apex Editor, 2012). To effectively reduce stress, the airline staffs should be trained on how to effectively reduce the bottleneck that is present within the check-in counters, queues for passport control, and other related security checks. In the process of reducing long queues within the airport vicinity, the airline staffs could somehow indirectly participate in reducing the risks for possible “air rage”. With regards to flight onboard stress, the cabin crews should be trained and properly informed about the need to assist the airline passengers in finding their pre-allocated seats and assist them when moving their luggage inside the overhead compartments. To ensure that each and every airline passenger would enjoy a stress-free flight, the cabin crews should offer the airline passengers something to eat and drink. Likewise, the cabin crews should provide the passengers with something that will keep them busy during the long-hour flight (i.e. magazines to read, music to listen to, some videos to watch, etc.). When dealing with airline passengers with mental health disorders, the cabin crews and airline staffs should make special arrangements. At all times, the passenger’s assistant should be seated beside him. In doing so, the personal assistance of airline passenger with mental health problem can immediately provide the client with immediate intervention to make him/her calm. 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