Researchers analyze the effects of stress on decision-making

Researchers at Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute are conducting studies to determine how stress affects the decision-making ability of people working in professions in which split-second judgment can mean the difference between life and death for themselves or others.

Members of the school’s Expert Performance Research Team utilize a blinking, breathing and somewhat lifelike mannequin, named “Bob”, to perform simulations to test participants’ critical thinking and decision-making abilities.

David W. Eccles, an FSU assistant professor and team member who serves on the faculty of both the Learning Systems Institute and the College of Education, said that, “By measuring the performance of people with varying levels of expertise, we are able to develop a better sense of how a person with a high level of expertise is able to excel under stressful conditions that might paralyze a novice.”

He continued, “Over time, this will help us to develop new training protocols.” Several state-of-the-art apparatuses were used to gauge performance levels in various professions at the Human Performance Lab. In one room, a theater-size screen is used to assess the reactions of law-enforcement personnel as they witness scenarios that may or may not require them to draw and fire their (simulated) weapons. Other studies involve testing the reactions of athletes as they react to situations they will likely encounter in game situations.

Researchers conducting such critical scenarios on experts and novices not only observe the differences in the subjects’ performance, but also take measurements from participants that include eye and body movement, reaction time, heart rate, blood-pressure and perspiration. As well, they use interviewing techniques they have developed to understand the differences in the participants’ minds.

FSU assistant professor Paul Ward, of the Learning Systems Institute and department of psychology, said the researchers were “looking at how people think and how that thinking affects how they perform.”

The FSU Human Performance Laboratory was established in 2004 through congressional funds from the Office of Naval Research. The Navy’s interest in the project lies in its potential to identify cognitive mechanisms that influence skilled performance among Navy personnel, especially in combat situations, to better prepare people to make critical decisions in stressful scenarios.

The researchers hope to extend their research to other areas of study, such as education and personal finance.

SOURCES: Paul Ward, David Eccles, Laura Hassler Lang, K. Anders Ericsson. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

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