Evan Thomas
Inactive
This article has some interesting information on what factors contribute to "situational awareness," loosely defined as the ability to perceive threats. Some unsurprising findings, such as that training helps, and stress and anxiety hurt... but it seems there are big individual differences in things like the visual ability to detect little things that are out of whack, and the ability to pay attention to an emotional response to things being out of whack -- given that the emotional response may occur before you're consciously aware that something is wrong...
Just an excerpt:
Umm, well, they probably involve both... hate folks who think everything's either/or....
Just an excerpt:
In Battle, Hunches Prove to Be Valuable
New York Times, 27 July '09
"In war, anxiety can run as high as the Iraqi heat, and neuroscientists say that the most perceptive, observant brain on earth will not pick up subtle clues if it is overwhelmed by stress.
"In the Army study of I.E.D. detection, researchers found that troops who were good at spotting bombs in simulations tended to think of themselves as predators, not prey. That frame of mind by itself may work to reduce anxiety, experts say.
"The brains of elite troops also appear to register perceived threats in a different way from the average enlistee, said Dr. Martin P. Paulus, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego, and the V.A. San Diego Healthcare System. At the sight of angry faces, members of the Navy Seals show significantly higher activation in the insula than regular soldiers, according to a just-completed study.
"'The big question is whether these differences perceiving threat are natural, or due to training,' Dr. Paulus said."
New York Times, 27 July '09
"In war, anxiety can run as high as the Iraqi heat, and neuroscientists say that the most perceptive, observant brain on earth will not pick up subtle clues if it is overwhelmed by stress.
"In the Army study of I.E.D. detection, researchers found that troops who were good at spotting bombs in simulations tended to think of themselves as predators, not prey. That frame of mind by itself may work to reduce anxiety, experts say.
"The brains of elite troops also appear to register perceived threats in a different way from the average enlistee, said Dr. Martin P. Paulus, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego, and the V.A. San Diego Healthcare System. At the sight of angry faces, members of the Navy Seals show significantly higher activation in the insula than regular soldiers, according to a just-completed study.
"'The big question is whether these differences perceiving threat are natural, or due to training,' Dr. Paulus said."
Umm, well, they probably involve both... hate folks who think everything's either/or....