Improving trainee's performances under stress

The purpose of this project is to develop a method that will reduce the negative effects of stress on performances under high pressure. Since stress can negatively affect cognitive processes such as decision making, reducing the negative effects is expected to increase decision quality during crises and disasters. This project focusses on emergency workers that enter high stressful situations on a professional bases.

The approach to this project is to first explore or extend the knowledge that is available on the subject. A new model is established that combines theories and models from the literature and adds new (energetical) factors, to increase the variable objectiveness and to increase the individualistic approach to stress perception.    

This model is first explored in two studies that suggest that performances under stress can be predicted based on cognitive and affective variables. This is the base for the next step in the approach of this project: creating a feedback system.

At the end of the project several products will be created such as; an evidence-based model and a model-based feedback system for virtual training situations. This feedback system has proven in several studies to improve trainee’s performances under stress in a virtual environment.