Plain English Meaning

The typical mental and emotional traps that students fall into while learning to fly, such as expecting too much too soon, getting frustrated, losing confidence, or becoming overconfident. The instructor watches for these and helps the learner past them.

Full Definition

Common patterns of thinking, emotion, or behavior that interfere with a learner's progress during flight or ground training. These include things like unrealistic self-expectations, fear of failure, frustration with slow progress, overconfidence after early success, and discouragement when performance temporarily drops. Instructors are expected to recognize these patterns and adjust their teaching approach to help the learner work through them.

Context Anchor

Seen in aviation instructor training when discussing human behavior and how instructors recognize problems that can interfere with learning.