Personality Profiles Among Novice UAV Operators: A Facet-Based, Person-Centered Study of Simulator Performance

Abstract

Objective This study examined whether facet-based personality profiles could be identified among novice unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots and whether these profiles were associated with simulator performance. Background

Research on personality and UAV performance has relied primarily on variable-centered approaches, leaving the potential value of person-centered analyses largely unexplored. Method Fifty individuals with no previous flight experience completed the 30 facets of the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised (NEO-PI-R) and a UAV simulator task. Standardized facet scores were entered into K-means cluster analyses. Alternative solutions were evaluated using clustering fit indices; between-cluster differences in personality and simulator performance were examined statistically, with false discovery rate correction for facet-level comparisons. Results A three-cluster solution was supported. Profiles differed predominantly in Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, with additional differences in Extraversion and, to a lesser extent, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Trust. No statistically significant differences emerged in total simulator time or total simulator errors, although Cluster 3 showed descriptively more favorable performance. Conclusion Novice UAV pilots were not psychologically homogeneous. Facet-level, person-centered analyses may help characterize psychological heterogeneity during initial UAV training; however, the findings do not support personality-profile-based performance differentiation in this sample.