Evaluating Risks

Yet again, a suicidal/homicidal person causes a tragedy. In this case, the person flew a plane into a mountain. As usual, media reports are full of quotes that make no sense. Authorities quoted in The New York Times report that the pilot, Andreas Lubitz, was "100 percent flightworthy" (obviously he wasn't) and that they are pondering "whether" it was a suicide or homicide (don't the facts speak for themselves?). Many laypeople may assume it's impossible to determine whether or not someone is homicidal or suicidal, if the person decides to lie. This is only partly true.

Most people who truly want to commit suicide or a homicide will lie about it if asked directly, because they want to succeed in their plans. But that doesn't mean organizations can't screen out persons with serious pathology.

Psychological testing is a simple and accurate way to screen for serious pathology. I don't do psychological testing, but I have read many psychological test reports. Some were done on patients I was seeing and in a couple of cases, I participated in appeal evaluations for NYPD and Dept. of Corrections applicants, which allowed me to read the test results performed by the NYPD and Corrections psychologists. What I have found is that these tests are accurate. In the clinical cases, they weren't that helpful, because if you're someone's therapist and you're competent, the results of their standardized psychological tests should come as no surprise. In the cases of the appeal evaluations, although I felt sympathy for the rejected applicants, the results that I and the other professionals performing the appeal evaluations came up with were similar to the NYPD and Corrections evaluations' results (if you're wondering about how someone can pass the NYPD psychological tests and still murder someone by strangling them to death, I don't have a good answer. One possibility is an incompetent examiner).

One common psychological test, the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) has a built-in "lie scale" that determines the level of truthfulness of someone's responses. One would think that any applicant for a sensitive job with a high score on the "lie scale" would be rejected. One hopes that this is true, anyway.

Another well-known and occasionally ridiculed test is the Rorshach inkblot test. Although results from Rorschach tests don't diagnose particular illnesses, they give clues that could guide an examiner or clinician to ask further questions.

People don't become homicidal or suicidal overnight. There are many psychological problems that create risks for future homicidal or suicidal behavior. These include not only depression, but also impulsivity, sociopathy, and narcissism. I don't know how Lufthansa pilots are screened and can't comment on whether I think Lufthansa is doing the right tests. What I do know is that personality remains more or less consistent during adult life and that there are many types of psychological tests and interviews that can reveal the types of problems that indicate a risk for future suicidal or homicidal behavior.

UPDATE 3/29: I just found out, through reading The New York Tiimes, that most airlines don't conduct any psychological testing on pilots or prospective pilots. This is incredible.