Robert J. Biersner

Selective Performance Effects of Nitrous Oxide

Twenty-one U.S. Navy divers were given several standard visual tests, the Purdue Peg-board, the Bennett Hand Tool Dexterity Test, and the Wechsler Memory Scale while breathing air or 30% nitrous oxide. The results showed that visual function, fine and gross motor performance, and long-term memory were normal under nitrous oxide, while learning and short-term memory were significantly impaired. The subjective effects of breathing nitrous oxide were similar to those experienced during compressed air narcosis. The selective impairment of short-term memory suggests that divers might be able to perform useful work at depths deeper than those currently authorized, provided the tasks were well learned and practiced.

Biochemical and mood responses predictive of stressful diving performance

Measures of six self-reported moods (assessed using the Mood Questionnaire), serum cholesterol levels, and serum uric acid (SUA) levels were obtained from 26 divers attending the Saturation Diver Training (SDT) course, the most sophisticated and arduous diving course offered by the U.S. Navy. These measures were correlated with various types of diving activity that occurred during the seven years following graduation from the SDT course. Multiple regression analyses showed that two moods, Fear and Happiness, from the Mood Questionnaire, were independently related to years of subsequent diving experience, while mood Fear and cholesterol levels were associated with total number of dives made during this period. The number of dives made to depths of over 100 feet of sea water was related independently to cholesterol levels and mood Happiness. A high frequency of saturation diving (i.e., dives that last for periods in excess of 12 hours) was found for divers with high SUA levels and low scores on mood Fear. Variations in significant mood and biochemical measures across the different types of diving criteria are discussed in terms of the level of stress involved, prior diving experience, psychological traits including perceived control and achievement motivation, and attitudes formed toward diving during the SDT course.

Encoding and Decoding of Connected Discourse During Altered States of Consciousness

The following hypotheses were investigated in a study of memory recall and an altered state of consciousness: (a) A direct relationship was expected between the magnitude of correct responses and task complexity. (b) Semantic context variation was expected to cause greater impairment in verbal processing than variation in syntactic constraints. (c) Under N2O fewer correct responses in verbal processing were expected to be made. Forty-four volunteers, male corpsmen in the U. S. Navy between the ages of 20 and 29, were randomly divided into two equal groups: a nitrous oxide group and an air group. After breathing either N2O or air for 10 minutes, Ss were required to repeat pairs of taped sentences of high syntax/high semantic context to low syntax/low semantic context. Responses were scored for errors. All three hypotheses were accepted. Task complexity caused the greatest magnitude of errors. Ss were able to compensate for variations in syntax and in the gas state, but low semantic quality strongly affected performance. The factors interacted in powerful ways to produce differential response errors from a low error rate for air/high syntax/high context to a high error rate for N2O/low syntax/low context.

Motor and Cognitive Effects of Cold Water Immersion under Hyperbaric Conditions

Motor and cognitive tests were administered to four Navy divers under dry baseline conditions, in warm and cold shallow water, and again in cold water at 183 m. It was found that water resistance, cold water, and prolonged exposure to cold water at depth resulted in significant decrements in motor performance. None of these factors, however, consistently or reliably impaired cognitive performance. Those cognitive impairments which were found could probably be accounted for by impaired motor performance. The motor effects of prolonged exposure to cold water at 183 m may be related to either severe heat debt or CO2 retention. These results indicate that present heating techniques are inadequate to protect divers from significant motor impairments after entering cold water at any depth, and from additional decrements after exposure to cold water for an hour at 183 m.

Cognitive and Emotional Factors Representative of Reinforcement Patterns among an Amateur Softball Team

Pre-game performance expectations, emotions, and post-game performance ratings were measured among members of an amateur Softball team. The results showed that pre-game performance expectations and reported happiness were at high levels and did not differ between won or lost games or between skilled and lesser skilled players. Reported depression was found to rise significantly among skilled players prior to lost games. Post-game performance ratings were significantly lower than pre-game performance expectations among both skilled and lesser skilled players. Post-game performance ratings of both the players and coach were significantly higher for games won than games lost, but the ratings of the coach after all games were significantly higher than those of the players. Post-game performance ratings by the coach of skilled and lesser skilled players did not differ significantly. These results indicate that cognitive (expectation) and emotional factors, as well as self-reported performance ratings, may be useful in determining reinforcement patterns among amateur players and coaches. In the present situation, uniform, positive reinforcement by the coach appears to be perceived differently among skilled and lesser skilled players depending on whether the game was won or lost.

Measurement of English Speaking Proficiency Among Nonnative Americans.

Summary Native American judges (N = 56 men and women) listened to taped recordings of 28 Filipinos pronouncing 200 monosyllabic words which were phonetically balanced. The score was the total number of words identified correctly by the judges. Interrater reliability was moderately high (.72). Scores on a verbal intelligence test, education level, years of Naval service, age, hours per week that English is currently spoken, scores on the I-E Control Scale, age at which English was first spoken, and military rank were correlated with total word score. Only the latter two variables were associated significantly with the criterion. The significant finding for age at which English was first spoken replicates and extends previous results, while the significant correlation with military rank indicates that English speaking proficiency may be involved slightly in occupational advancement. This measure of English speaking proficiency appears to be reliable and valid, and may be useful in research on the developmen...

Factors Related to English Language Pronunciation

Summary A list of 200 English monosyllables was pronounced by 28 Filipino speakers. Errors in pronunciation, as determined by whether or not the recorded words were perceived correctly by native American listeners, were found to be related to word frequency, phonetic difficulty, and the evaluative dimension derived from semantic differential analysis. Infrequently occurring words, words rated high in phonetic difficulty, and words poorly differentiated on the evaluative dimension were most often mispronounced. Pronunciation was not related to the imagery ratings assigned to the words. Low frontal and middle back vowels were especially difficult to pronounce, followed by initial consonants classified as stops and fricatives. While articulatory characteristics and familiarity (as indicated by word frequency) account for substantial error variance, the emotional connotation of words as assessed by the evaluative dimension appears to be a ubiquitous factor that may underlie transfer of pronunciation skills be...

DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTUAL ABILITIES OF NAVY SONAR OPERATORS AND RECRUITS

The responses of 100 Navy sonar operators were compared to those of over 600 Navy recruits using the Hidden Patterns, Gestalt Completion, and Cube Comparison tests. Sonar operators attempted more items and made fewer errors on Hidden Patterns, attempted more items on Gestalt Completion, and made fewer errors on Cube Comparison than recruits, while recruits attempted more Cube Comparison items than sonar operators. The two groups did not differ in Gestalt Completion errors. These measures, especially Cube Comparison, may be useful in screening Navy personnel for sonar training, particularly training for those sonar systems in which visual displays are used extensively.