Greetings TIGHAR archive foragers;
I have combed the archives for informaton about the failed 1937 flight that is explicitly psychological in nature. I thought it might be useful to share a working bibliography with other foragers and researchers interested in the human aspects of that historic event (and the Niku hypothesis in general). The information I found pertains to two aspects of the flight.
En Route to Howland. AE's voice was put on loudspeaker in the
Itasca radio shack, and three listeners later described their perceptions of the quality of her voice. The descriptions suggest that AE was responding to the threat of failing to see
Itasca and Howland when she expected to (probably at 07:42); namely, the listeners all reported perceiving fear (e.g., increased pitch) in AE's voice. These reports were in the Forum subject board "Did Earhart Panic" that appeared in early 2012 (URL given below per Thompson report). The reports constitute what precious little is known about AE during the flight other than her words as logged by the
Itasca radio personnel. ●The Bellarts (chief radioman) report:
Finding Amelia, page 100. (Caveat: report made in 1973, but it is descriptively in line with the two contemporaneous reports.) ●The Thompson (
Itasca captain) report:
Thompson Report (click on the
no panic.pdf attachment). (This is the second report--see
Finding Amelia, p. 100 for parts of the first; the second is, IMO, more psychologically detailed.) ●The Kenner (
Itasca XO) report:
Kenner Report.
Unprepared to Fly. Not being an aviator, I take on trust the prevalent belief that AE was apparently not cognitively ready for the 1937 flight. Specifically, she did not know Morse code sufficiently to use it effectively as a communication and navigational tool; and she did not seem to understand adequately what Ric calls "the capabilities and limitations" of the Electra radio. This is a useful source regarding the code feature ●
Morse code. There are three sources regarding AE and her lack of preparedness to use the radio effectively. ●
Joe Gurr on teaching pulls up a lengthy document but keep hunting because Mr. Gurr's comments about AE's lack of radio preperation and his attempt to teach her are, if assumed reliable, psychologically revealing. Also, give attention to AE apparently avoiding taking the radio test as part of the renewal of her pilot's license before the world flight. Dr. Jacobson Randall (●
Randall on avoidance) was of the opinion that AE's apparent desire to avoid that test was “probably the first contributing factor to Earhart’s failure to reach Howland in July.” Last, Ric Gillespie (●
Gillespie on radio) paints the big picture about AE and the radio, “The fundamental cause of the flight’s failure to reach Howland seems to be Earhart’s failure to adequately understand the capabilities and limitations of her radio equipment."
Allow me to cast the psych dice by suggesting that there is a common element to AE being unprepared as per code and the Electra radio. Self-discipline refers to completing something that is difficult or something one does not want to do. It is a facet of a major psychological trait called
Conscientiousness (diligence as a synonym). IMO, AE was short on conscientiousness in the aviation domain--there are other instances of that in AE's psychological history.
If you are aware of more psychological (or behavioral or psychiatric) sources pertinent to the Niku hypothesis--I have bookmarked Noonan's injury and Betty's Notebook and read Butler and Lovell--I would appreciate you sharing them.
Ciao, Guthrie
(JGF is a retired research psychologist)