naturalistc decision making under life threatening conditions

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2008. 1

Understanding Naturalistic Decision Making under

Life Threatening Conditions

Moin RahmanMotorola, Inc.

Plantation, FL 33322USA

E-mail: [email protected]


“Emergency or crisis conditions occur suddenly and often unexpectedly, operators must make critical decisions under extreme stress, and the consequences of poor performance are immediate and catastrophic.”(Salas, Driskell & Hughes, 1996).

Decision-Maker under Stress


Haditha Killings


Shooting in the Bronx

Amadou Diallo


High Velocity of information processingEmotionally modulated cognitionEvent perception- volatile- uncertain- complex- ambiguousNaturalistic decision making

High velocity of eventsNon-linear dynamicsComplex & chaotic- ill structured- ill defined- high stakes- incomplete information

Perceptions & Behaviors(Human Factors)

Non-Equilibrium(Event structure)

High Velocity Human Factors (HVHF) [Rahman, 2007]

Auto Vigilance

Response Competition

Regressive Behavior


Emotion disrupts cognition

Reason facilitates cognition

Cartesian Dualism


Classical, “Affect-free,” Human Information Processing Model (Wickens, 1992)


OODA Loop


“Snake in the Grass Effect” (LeDoux, 1996)


High Road vs. Low Road (LeDoux, 1996)


Triune Brain (MacLean, 1993)


Lessons from Ethology: Predator-Prey (PP) Dyad

Dynamics: • Sudden, Volatile, Uncertain, High Stakes• Imminent threat to life and limb• Aversive emotions, defensive behavior


1) Orientation (Or)

Behavior under Life Threatening Conditions (OrAM)

2) Alarm Response (A)

3) Mobilization (M)


- Fear Bradycardia (brief drop in heart rate)

Orientation

- Attentional TunnelingLoss of peripheral visionAuditory exclusion

“non-consciously size up the threat”(PNS dominates)

- Increased SCR

- Startle inhibition


1) Orientation (Or)



3) Mobilization (M)


Changes in the brain-body landscape(SNS dominates)

Alarm Response

- PhysiologicalTachycardia (heart rate increases)Peaked muscle tension Increased respiration rate

-Psychological: Fear potentiated startle response

- Neural: Primitive brain takes over

-Chemical: Body & brain flooded with hormones and neurotransmitters


The Three Stages of Emotion (Damasio, 1999)

CONSCIOUS

Complex, flexible and customized plans of response are formulated in conscious images and maybe executed as behavior

High Reason

simple, stereotyped patterns of response: metabolic regulation, reflexes -- the biological machinery behind what will become pain and pleasure, drives and motivations

Basic Life Regulation

complex, stereotyped patterns of response: secondary emotions, primary emotions, and background emotions

Sensory patterns signaling pain, pleasure, and emotions become imagesFeelings

Emotions

NON-CONSCIOUS


Emotional Arousal: Marine in Combat

Ficks (2005):I heard my feet tapping involuntarily on the Humvee floor. My knees stitched upand down like a sewing machine. My mouth felt dry and gummy. Everything seemed to pass in a blur. I thought of war stories that talked about hyperclarity in combat, seeing every blade of grass and feeling colors more intensely than ever before. But for me, whole city blocks faded into gray fuzz. I feared I was processing information too slowly, seeing only one of every ten things I should. I felt short changed. I wanted hyperclarity, too.


Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio, et al., 2005)


1) Orientation (Or)



3) Mobilization (M)


Mobilization Behaviors


signature display

challenge display

Mobilization Defensive Behaviors (Prey)


Mobilization Defensive Behaviors (Prey)


PP Dyad Socio-Technical Systems (STS)

Posture: Exhibit signature and challenge displays (Rahman, 2007b).

Outnumbered by violent rioters.

Law enforcement officers

Freeze: Stays still and blends (camouflage) with the terrain\vegetation to remain unseen.

Unexpectedly comes across enemy.

Reconnaissance marine

Fight: Take cover; fire back to neutralize adversary and call for help.

Adversary opens fire.SWAT team member

Flee: Pilot performs appropriate air combat maneuvers to avoid the adversary’s weapon systems.

Outmaneuvered in aerial combat by adversary.

Fighter pilot

Flee: Issue mayday call; figure out a way to exit the building.

Lost bearings inside a structure fire.

Fire fighter

E.g., Sample BehaviorNature of ThreatType of Human Agent


Model: “emotion-primed”NDM under Life Threatening Conditions


Constructive & Destructive Modulation

Constructive Modulation of Emotion:1) Mann Gulch Wild Land Fire2) United Flight 232

Destructive Modulation of Emotion:1) Haditha killings2) Shooting in the Bronx


Automatic vs. Deliberate: OrAM vs. OODA

ControlledEffortfulDeductiveSlowSelf-aware

UncontrolledEffortlessAssociativeFast Unconscious

DeliberateAutomatic


• TrainingSimulate the somatic markers (emotional arousal: degree & kind) experienced in the field.

• Individual differencesalexithymia, PTSD, psychopathic tendencies

Conclusions (Training & Personnel Issues)


Triune Brain (MacLean, 1993)


Conclusions (Design for Reptilian Brain)

S D

Gibsonian approach: Direct perception/affordances


Semantic vs. Direct Approach (example)

5


Affordances (action & function)

Action Affordance

Hand Operated Emergency Brake

Function Affordance


Overthrowing the Tyranny

Embodied Interactions


• PP Dyad to model NDM under life threatening conditions

• Orientation-Alarm response-Mobilization (OrAM) supplants OODA

• Empirical research required for a deeper understanding of OrAM in STS.

Conclusions (Research Findings)


[email protected]

naturalistc decision making under life threatening conditions

Technology