Joan H. Johnston

The Effect of Stress Inoculation Training on Anxiety and Performance.

Stress inoculation training is an intervention that has shown considerable promise; however, many questions arise regarding the application of this clinically based approach to more applied workplace settings. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall effectiveness of stress inoculation training and to identify conditions that may moderate the effectiveness of this approach. The analysis was based on a total of 37 studies with 70 separate hypothesis tests, representing the behavior of 1,837 participants. Results indicated that stress inoculation training was an effective means for reducing performance anxiety, reducing state anxiety, and enhancing performance under stress. Furthermore, the examination of moderators such as the experience of the trainer, the type of setting in which training was implemented, and the type of trainee population revealed no significant limitations on the application of stress inoculation training to applied training environments.

Effects of preparatory information on enhancing performance under stress.

Research conducted largely in medical and clinical settings suggests that receiving preparatory information prior to a stressful event can reduce negative responses to stress. Although results within this domain have been promising, little research has examined the efficacy of preparatory information on enhancing performance in a more applied task environment. This study examined the effect of preparatory information on reducing stress reactions and enhancing performance on a realistic decision-making task. Results indicated that those who received preparatory information prior to performing under high-stress conditions reported less anxiety, were more confident in their ability to perform the task, and made fewer performance errors than those who received no preparatory information.

Training teams for emergency management

Emergency management (EM), the decision making involved in directing the relief operation after a disaster or otherwise catastrophic accident is an issue of great public and private concern because of the high stakes involved. Due to the nature of emergencies, and especially mass emergencies, EM teams are faced with decision making in stressful situations, information ambiguity and overload, and a significant level of uncertainty, whereby non-routine problem solving of a knowledge-based nature is required. An important characteristic of EM is that it is a team of teams; multiple teams that come from different organizations, with different organizational goals and different organizational cultures, that work together to minimize the negative effects of the emergency. As a consequence, EM requires good coordination and communication not just within, but also among the various teams involved. Coordination among teams should, therefore, be a key focus for training. This paper describes EM within the context of naturalistic decision making, and proposes a framework, an event-based approach to training, together with a number of team training strategies that may be applicable to EM. A brief assessment of available training technologies and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Vigilant and Hypervigilant Decision Making

Recent studies have argued that deficient decision making under stress is due to adoption of a hypervigilant style of decision making, which has been characterized as disorganized and inefficient. However, under the conditions that characterize many real-world or naturalistic tasks, a hypervigilant pattern of decision making may be adaptive, because the decision maker does not have the luxury of implementing a more elaborate analytic procedure. This study examined the effectiveness of vigilant and hypervigilant decision-making strategies on a naturalistic task. Results indicated that participants who used a hypervigilant decision-making strategy performed better than those who used a vigilant strategy. Implications for decision making in naturalistic environments are discussed.

Does stress training generalize to novel settings

Many high-stress task environments are complex and dynamic, and it is often difficult during training to anticipate the exact conditions that may be encountered in these settings. We conducted an empirical study to examine whether the positive effects of stress training that addressed one specific type of stressor and task would remain when trainees performed under a novel stressor or performed a novel task. Participants performed a laboratory task under stress conditions. Measures of task performance and self-reported stress were obtained at three performance trials: (a) prior to stress training, (b) after a stress training intervention targeted to that specific task environment, and (c) under novel stressor/task conditions. Results indicated that the beneficial effects of stress training were retained when participants performed under a novel stressor and performed a novel task. We discuss the implications of this study with regard to their application in the design of stress training and the transfer of learning to complex, dynamic task environments.

Decision Support for Air Warfare: Detection of Deceptive Threats

This article describes an empirical study of the effectiveness of a decision support system called TADMUS. TADMUS is an acronym for Tactical Decision-Making Under Stress. The TADMUS DSS was developed at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego.The TADMUS HCI was designed to mitigate the limitations of human cognition in the following 3 areas: perception, attention, and memory. We expected that decision makers would be better able to recognize deceptive threats if they used a compensatory decision aid that mitigated the effects of their cognitive limitations.Our participants were 90 US Navy officers who were enrolled at the Surface Warfare Officers School. The participants were formed into 15 teams of six to perform the experimental task. Each team performed a total of three 25-minute threat detection scenarios. Eight of the teams had the aid of the TADMUS DSS, and 7 teams used the current US Navy training system called TASWIT.Teams performed significantly better at detection of deceptive threats when using the TADMUS DSS. We concluded that the design approach was successful.

Designing Adaptive Instruction for Teams: a Meta-Analysis

The goal of this research was the development of a practical architecture for the computer-based tutoring of teams. This article examines the relationship of team behaviors as antecedents to successful team performance and learning during adaptive instruction guided by Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). Adaptive instruction is a training or educational experience tailored by artificially-intelligent, computer-based tutors with the goal of optimizing learner outcomes (e.g., knowledge and skill acquisition, performance, enhanced retention, accelerated learning, or transfer of skills from instructional environments to work environments). The core contribution of this research was the identification of behavioral markers associated with the antecedents of team performance and learning thus enabling the development and refinement of teamwork models in ITS architectures. Teamwork focuses on the coordination, cooperation, and communication among individuals to achieve a shared goal. For ITSs to optimally tailor team instruction, tutors must have key insights about both the team and the learners on that team. To aid the modeling of teams, we examined the literature to evaluate the relationship of teamwork behaviors (e.g., communication, cooperation, coordination, cognition, leadership/coaching, and conflict) with team outcomes (learning, performance, satisfaction, and viability) as part of a large-scale meta-analysis of the ITS, team training, and team performance literature. While ITSs have been used infrequently to instruct teams, the goal of this meta-analysis make team tutoring more ubiquitous by: identifying significant relationships between team behaviors and effective performance and learning outcomes; developing instructional guidelines for team tutoring based on these relationships; and applying these team tutoring guidelines to the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT), an open source architecture for authoring, delivering, managing, and evaluating adaptive instructional tools and methods. In doing this, we have designed a domain-independent framework for the adaptive instruction of teams.

Application of Cognitive Load Theory to Develop a Measure of Team Cognitive Efficiency

Improving human systems integration through technologically advanced training and performance aids has become increasingly important to military transformation. Measures of improved cognitive and coordination processes arising from the employment of transformational tools are necessary to guide the refinement and future development of such technologies. In this article, we describe a cognitive load theory approach to developing a combinatory measure of individual workload and team performance following an experimental intervention involving training and a decision support system. We discuss how indicators of what we term team cognitive efficiency can improve assessing the effectiveness of transformational processes and technologies.

Distributed Team Performance: A Multi-Level Review of Distribution, Demography, and Decision Making

Distributed performance arrangements are increasingly used by organizations to structure dyadic and team interactions. Unfortunately, distributed teams are no panacea. This chapter reviews some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the geographical and temporal distribution of team members. An extended discussion of the implications of distributed team performance for individual, team, and organizational decision making is provided, with particular attention paid to selected cultural factors. Best practices and key points are advanced for those stakeholders charged with offsetting the performance decrements in decision making that can result from distribution and culture.

Adapting Immersive Training Environments to Develop Squad Resilience Skills

The United States Army defines readiness and resilience as tactically proficient Soldiers and highly adaptive problem solvers capable of overcoming challenges and making decisions with strategic consequences in ambiguous situations. To address the resilience training gap, the Squad Overmatch study produced recommendations for employing immersive and live training strategies within the Stress Exposure Training (SET) framework. SET is a three-phase training method designed to provide information, skills training, and practice; with the goal of learning how to cope and perform while exposed to combat stressors. The potential for a wide range of Soldier experience levels in the pre-deployment training phase requires structuring and facilitating immersive and live training to develop resilience skills. In this paper we provide recommendations for adapting immersive environments to focus on assessing unit “readiness to train,” and employing methods and tools that improve training effectiveness.