Originally Posted by
SmoothOnTop
Captains that hold the yoke during the entire stick shaker and stick pusher test might have an emotional-physiological connection with the vibrations.
Some AFMs have crews test the master disconnect switch (to see if they can override the pusher for instance).
If your captain holds it any longer than that, you should ask him and the shaker to "get a room"
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The last two airlines I was at before my current one, the book specifically said the captain was to try to hold back the yoke during the pusher to test the resistance of force. At American Eagle, the book even published an estimated weight the yoke should pull. I believe it was 40lbs of force, but this was a while ago...
The test was to be conducted before every flight. With 4 to 5 legs a day, maybe 100 legs a month I can see the other argument above that maybe one captain could accidentally hold the yoke back impulsively as they have done so many times.