2014 US RAND RR750 Enhancing performance under stress - stress innocuation training in battlefield airmen
Identify Opportunities to Integrate Common Stressors from Downrange Experiences As battlefield airmen return from deployments, attempts should be made to document the specific nature, range, and intensity of stressors. Along these lines, Hall et al. (1992) suggest conducting a step-by-step stressor analysis, to identify (atypical stressors encountered, b) performance deficiencies due to stressors in terms of psychomotor and cognitive processes, c) knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to promote technical performance while exposed to the stressors, and (d) specific cues in the environment that trigger use of effective stress coping skills (p. 360). Although research has shown that the skills learned during SIT can transfer to novel stressors (Driskell, Johnston, and Salas, 2001), familiarity with the operational environment will help to decrease anxiety, facilitate concentration on task-relevant details, and increase confidence. This recommendation is consistent with Keinan and Fried- land’s (1996) tenet that trainees should be given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with stressors characteristic of the criterion situation. Familiarity is needed in order to reduce uncertainty and to improve the transfer of learning (p. 263). The Air Force currently collects information related to this recommendation (e.g., in the Post Deployment Health Assessment however, these screening tools are designed primarily to target trauma that may result in severe stress or PTSD. Additional efforts should be made to document other stressors that may affect performance (e.g., noise, sand, and lack of mission clarity).
