In Private Pilot ACS, PA.III.A.R3 refers to which concept?

• A. Risk management bias.
• B. Confirmation or expectation bias.
• C. Decision-making errors.
• D. Cognitive overload during long flights.

Answer: (B)

Decision-making in flight is influenced by cognitive biases that shape how we gather and interpret information. Confirmation or expectation bias is the tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember data in a way that reinforces what you already believe or expect, while discounting information that contradicts it. In a cockpit, this can lead you to overweight evidence that supports your planned action (for example, assuming weather will stay better than it actually is or that the engine will behave as expected) and to underemphasize or overlook warning signs or contradictory data. The result is a skewed judgment and a reduced likelihood of pursuing a safer or alternative course of action.

This bias is the best fit because it pinpoints a specific mental trap that directly affects how information is evaluated to inform your decisions. The other options describe broader ideas (risk management biases, generic decision-making errors, or cognitive overload) but do not capture the precise tendency to favor confirmatory information over disconfirming data, which is what this concept highlights.