PERSONALITY AND SELF-REGULATION DIFFERENCES AS KEYFACTORS OF DECISION MAKING EFFICIENCY IN EMERGENCY

SITUATIONSTATIANA A. INDINA PhD, senior researcher, laboratory of Self-Regulation (Tatiana.indina@gmail.com)PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF EDUCATION, MOSCOW, RUSSIA

INTRODUCTIONUnder the conditions of today’s Russian reality the issue of study of personality andregulation differences of professionals who make decisions in emergency situationsis as relevant as ever. Emergency situations (ES) are primarily the specific conditionsof subjective activity realization and, particularly, decision making (DM) in uncertainenvironment.

Recently conducted theoretical historical data analysis made it possible to point outthe following basic conditions of decision making of specialists in ES:

•    High degree of uncertainty and low situation outcome predictability,

•    Lack of information required for decision making,

•    Rigid time limits,

•    High risk level,

•    Highly stressful working conditions,

•    Increased responsibility for the made decision, high cost of a mistake,

•    Rigidly regulated actions of a specialist according to requirements of standardsand instructions,

•    Need to generate non-standard decisions in non-standard situations,

•    Need to work in team and take concerted actions in an emergency situation.

Emergency events of the current reality raise an issue of necessity of developmentand practical application of real instruments aimed at assessment and improvementof efficiency of decision making in extreme living conditions and professional situa-tions, as well as of maximum use of individual regulatory and personality resourcesfor increasing efficiency of decisions made under ES conditions.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHThe present research is carried out within the framework of a regulatory approachto decision making. Studies of researchers of self-regulation psychology laboratoryof the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education show that well-formed conscious self-regulation system as an ability to manage and organize one’sown activities for achievement of stated objectives ensures efficiency of profession-al activities of specialists (Konopkin O.A., Morosanova V.I., Osnitskiy A.K., OboznovA.A., etc.)

According to our assumptions, regulatory sphere in decision making provides con-scious control and management of one’s own activity on all stages of decision makingand implementation, ensuring decision planning and programming activities, mod-elling of significant decision conditions, introduction of necessary corrections to de-cision, assessment of results and consequences of the decision made. The consciousself-regulation system makes it possible to mobilize personality and cognitive re-sources of a person in order to solve a lot of practical tasks.

From the regulatory approach positions we determine decision making as a processconsisting in conscious comparison by the subject of decision alternatives, takinginto account his/her objectives, acquisition of information necessary for analysis ofsignificant external and internal conditions, choice of methods and means of deci-sion implementation, as well as conscious assessment of its results and consequences(Morosanova V.I., Indina T.A., 2006, 2009).

We suppose that onscious self-regulation system of a person plays a key role on allstages of decision preparation and organization. It enables involvement of person-ality and cognitive resources in the decision making process, thus providing man-agement and control over efficiency of the decision to be made on the part of con-sciousness.

METHOD, PROCEDURE & MEA-SURESHypothesis of our research consisted in an assumption that there is an interrelationbetween intensity of regulatory and personality features and specificity of decisionmaking in ES; and efficiency of decision making of specialists in ES is ensured bymeans of regulatory and personality differences.

Research sample

The total research sample amounted to 180 persons – extreme profile specialists(officers, rescuers and firemen, bodyguards and personnel of security services ofMoscow and Republic of Tatarstan) – aged from 24 to 60 years.

Research methods

- To assess development of regulatory sphere and study the role of regulatorymechanisms in decision making a questionnaire “Self-Regulation Profile Question-naire” (SPQ) by Morosanova V.I. (2004), including such scales as Goal planning,Actions programming, Conditions modelling, Result assessment, as well as such reg-ulatory and personality features as Flexibility and Autonomy, was used;

- To study personality decision making features a technique “Personality FactorsOf Decision Making” by Kornilova T.V. (2003), allowing to detect Rationality andRisk readiness, was used;

- To study particular personality qualities of subjects a questionnaire NEO PI-R (Rus-sian version adapted by Oryol G., Senin I., 2003) was used;

- To study specificity of decision making a questionnaire “Decision Making in Emer-gency Situations” and an authorial experimental model “Decision Making in Emer-gency Situations”, containing real decision making situations from professional ex-perience of rescuers, were developed.

Development of an experimental model for assessment of efficiency of decisionmaking in emergency situations

Preliminary work for development of an experimental model for assessment of de-cision making extreme profile specialists included:

- information acquisition by means of observation of professional activities of offi-cers of the EMERCOM search-and-rescue detachments (SRD),

- questioning with the use of the developed authorial questionnaire “Decision makingin emergency situations”,

- analysis of official documents (rescuers training standards, qualifying require-ments, professional rescuer textbook),

- analysis of video-materials of professional activities and drills of members ofsearch-and-rescue detachments,

- carrying out of expert interviews (with head of detachment, shift supervisors, dutyofficers, rescuers),

- carrying out of a focus-group with EMERCOM rescuers,

- modelling of decision making situations by means of practical tasks with the helpof experts.

The carried out research enabled description of basic stages of decision making inthe professional activities of extreme profile specialists. It was stated that decisionmaking in the conditions of ES includes the following stages:

-acquisition of information on ES;

-    situation evaluation (analysis of ES conditions and necessary response tech-niques);

-    formation of subjective task representation;

-    construction of decision alternatives;

-    choice of alternative;

-    decision implementation;

-    general efficiency of a decision to be made.

In the model “Decision making in emergency situations” specialists were offeredto analyze a series of practical situations requiring decision making; these impliedboth choice of one of the given alternatives, and a possibility to suggest one’s owndecision algorithm.

An expert assessment served as the basic method of assessment of decision makingefficiency of specialists.

Overall efficiency of decision making of each person tested was assessed as a sumof marks for each of the decision parameters.

RESULTS & DISCUSSIONInterrelation between decision making efficiency, personality features andself-regulation

On the initial stage of identification of interrelations between indices of deci-sion making efficiency and personal features, conscious self-regulation process-es there was carried out a correlation analysis (Pearson corr) of indices on thebasis of the total sample of the tested. The obtained results prove that there is

a specificity of interrelation between decision making efficiency and intensityof personality and regulatory features of a subject.

Picture 1. Relation between decision making, self-regulation and personalityindexes

According to the results, DM parameters of information acquisition and situationevaluation in decision making significantly positively correlate with a regulatoryfeature of Modelling of significant operational conditions (r=0,37; p<0,01) and(r=0,39; p<0,01) correspondingly. Acquisition of the necessary information andsituation evaluation are the essential preparatory stage of decision making andimply that a subject creates a model of conditions crucial for decision making.In an emergency situation it is evaluation of means necessary for liquidationof its consequences, required resources, level of specialists training, etc. (Seepicture 1.)

Formation of subjective task representation in decision making requires that aspecialist clearly states objectives of activities and provides high level of Au-tonomy. According to the obtained results, formation of subjective task repre-sentation as a decision making stage is positively related to regulatory featuresof Autonomy (r=0.78; p<0.01) and Goal planning (r=0.53; p<0.01).

Construction of alternatives as one of the basic decision making parameterssignificantly positively correlates with a regulatory feature of Programming(r=0.54; p<0.01) and elaboration of an executive action programme – Program-ming (r=0.33; p<0.01). The choice of decision alternative significantly positivelycorrelates with the feature of regulatory Flexibility (r=0.70; p<0.001) – an abilityto reorganize an action programme taking into account changing circumstances,and a regulatory feature of Results assessment (r=0.32; p<0.05) – ability of asubject to forecast and evaluate consequences of decisions made.

Decision implementation significantly positively correlates with Programming(r=0.41; p<0.01) and reveals in stage-wise performance of focused actions aimedat implementation of the decision made.

Picture 2. Relations between decision making effectiveness with self-regu-lation and personality traits.

According to the obtained research results, overall efficiency of a decision isbased on developed Modelling of significant conditions (r=0.67; p<0.01), Assess-ment of decision result (r=0.52; p<0.01) and General level of self-regulationsystem (r=0.52; p<0.01). (See Picture 2)

According to the results of the research of interrelations between decision mak-ing and personality features on the basis of NEO PI-R questionnaire, it was es-tablished that Information acquisition in decision making significantly positivelycorrelates with a personality feature of Openness to new experience (r=0.33;p<0.01). A decision index of Situation evaluation (r=0.45;p<0.01) significantlyrelates to a personality feature of Openness to experience. Readiness to per-ceive and consider new information ensures a more adequate and impartial as-sessment of an emergency situation during decision making. The parametersof Construction of alternatives (r=0.19; p<0.05) and Decision implementation(r=0.27; p<0.05) turn out to be positively correlated with a personality featureof Agreeableness – readiness of specialists to work in team and take concertedactions for liquidation of ES consequences.

Choice of alternative in decision making negatively correlates with a personalfeature of Neuroticism (r=0.32; p<0.05) and positively correlates with a person-ality feature of Conscientiousness (r=0.21; p<0.05), which is understood in thiscase as scrupulousness, punctuality and reliability in performing professionaltasks. According to the obtained results, general efficiency of decision makingof extreme profile specialists in ES is related to intensity of such personalityfeatures as Openness to new experience (r=33, p<0,01) Agreeableness (t=0,35,p<0,05) and Rationality (r=0,27, p<0,05).

The obtained results show that there is a specificity of interrelation betweendecision making efficiency and intensity of personality and regulatory featuresof a subject.

Regulatory and personality profiles of specialists with high and low decisionmaking efficiency.

Obtained data on interrelation of personality and regulation factors providingdecision making efficiency led us to assume that regulatory and personality pro-files of efficient and inefficient decision making specialists will be different. Toprove this assumption we used a method of comparison of marginal (extreme)groups.

Separation of extreme groups with high and low decision making efficiency outof the total sample allowed us to build typical profiles taking into account in-tensity of regulatory and personality features of the tested. In extreme groupswere included the tested persons whose decision making efficiency indices were+/- 1 of the standard deviation from mean. As a result we obtained a group of37 specialists with high decision making efficiency and a group of 29 specialistswith low decision making efficiency. In order to determine regulatory specificityof marginal groups, they were compared using the Student’s t-criterion.

Picture 4. Personality profiles for effective and not effective decision making

Picture 3. Regulation profiles in effective and not effective decision making

Specialists with the highest decision making efficiency are characterized withpronounced regulatory features of result assessment, modelling of significantoperational conditions, decision programming. Personality particularities of spe-cialists who are highly efficient in decision making include such pronouncedfeatures as Openness to new experience, Rationality, Agreeableness.

Specialists with low decision making efficiency are characterized with low levelof development of the basic regulatory features and high level of neuroticismand readiness to risk.

As it follows from the obtained results of an empirical research, decision makingefficiency depends, first of all, on development in extreme profile specialistsof such features as Agreeableness, Rationality, Openness to new experience,as well as training of their conscious self-regulation system, i.e. ability to con-sciously control their activities and, therefore, decision making. Developed abil-ity of situation analysis and control is an indispensable component of efficientdecision making.

Complexes of regulatory and personality features pointed out in our researchserve as mechanisms enabling efficient making of decisions by specialists inemergency situations.

Our research proves that decision making efficiency and personality componentsare interrelated through conscious self-regulation system. Regulatory sphereprovides involvement of individual personality features in a decision makingprocess, which allows to increase its efficiency as a whole, as well as efficiencyof certain stages thereof.

High level of conscious self-regulation and related subject personality featuresof Agreeableness, Rationality, Openness to new experience – conditions theprobability that decisions that such specialist would make in emergency situa-tions will be efficient.

FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS1)    The carried out research of regulatory and personality features of extreme pro-file specialists allowed to identify and describe parameters important for assessmentof decision making efficiency in ES– information acquisition, situation evaluation,formation of subjective task representation, construction and choice of alternative,decision implementation.

2)    There were determined significant interrelations between each of decisionmaking parameters and regulatory and personality features of subjects. Generaldecision making efficiency positively correlates with development of a general lev-el of conscious self-regulation system, regulatory features of Modelling and Resultassessment, as well as personality features of Openness to new experience, Agree-ableness and Rationality.

3)    Specialists with the highest decision making efficiency are characterized withpronounced regulatory features of result assessment, modelling of significant oper-ational conditions, decision programming. Personality particularities of specialistswho are highly efficient in decision making include such pronounced features asOpenness to new experience, Rationality, Agreeableness. Specialists with low deci-sion making efficiency are characterized with low level of development of the basicregulatory features and high level of neuroticism and readiness to risk.

4)    Self-regulation processes enable organization of a decision making process, pro-vide conscious control thereof on the part of consciousness, determine involvementof necessary personality resources in decision making process. Conscious self-regu-lation system development plays a key role in providing decision making efficiencyof extreme profile specialists in emergency situations.

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