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Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors -- some serious- in their daily lives. In their upcoming
Human Factors article, "Earthquakes on the Mind: Implications of Disasters for Human Performance," researchers William S. Helton and James Head from the University of Canterbury explore how cognitive performance can decline after earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Past research has indicated that more traffic accidents and accident-related fatalities occur following human-made disasters such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, due to increased cognitive impairment that can lead to higher stress levels and an increase in intrusive thoughts. However, no research has been conducted on the effects of natural disasters on cognitive performance. The authors were unexpectedly presented with a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, with participants in a study on human performance they were conducting at the time of the quake.
"We were conducting a [different] study on human performance requiring two sessions," said Helton. "In the midst of the study, between the two sessions, we had a substantial local earthquake, which resulted in the rare opportunity to do a before/after study. We were quick to seize the opportunity."
The researchers measured participants' cognitive control by asking them to either press a button corresponding to numbers presented on a video screen or to withhold a response to a preselected number presented on the same screen. Normally, participant performance would improve during the second session, but the authors found an increase in errors of omission following the earthquake.
Helton and Head also noted distinct differences in pre- and post-earthquake findings depending on self-reported responses to the disaster: If the participants reported being anxious following the quake, their response times sped up and they made more errors of commission, whereas those who reported depression logged slower response times.
"The article provides evidence for a phenomenon many people report experiencing after a major event like an earthquake," said Helton. "People would find themselves zoning out and making more errors than usual after the quake."
Future research is needed to explore this phenomenon further, but the researchers' findings may point to potentially serious complications arising from postdisaster performance in daily life and work tasks. These findings also suggest that police, emergency responders, and others working in the aftermath of the disaster may also experience cognitive disruption, which can interfere with their ability to perform rescue-related tasks.
"Presumably people are under increased cognitive load after a major disaster," Helton continued. "Processing a disaster during tasks is perhaps similar to dual-tasking, like driving and having a cell phone conversation at the same time, and this can have consequences."
Here's an interesting point I doubt anyone has considered.
I’ve dealt with Attention Deficit Disorder all my life. And although I’ve never been on any meds for it, the fact remains that when meds are prescribed for it, they are always some form of stimulant. Which for some weird reason, instead of stimulation, have a calming effect on folks like me.
Over the years, I have been through numerous disastrous near catastrophic situations, including combat. These were situations that could be characterized as an emergency, or disaster, that produces such a sudden high level of adrenalin that most folks just can’t function anymore. And they become almost paralyzed by fear, or panic. It’s as if when in trouble, or in doubt, most folks are prone to just run in circles, scream and shout.
But I’ve noticed that it is in the middle of those ultra high adrenalin situations that suddenly my mind comes into focus. And I am able to remain perfectly calm, take charge, and think clearer, and faster, than at any other time, or anyone in the group. It’s almost as if I’ve stepped through a time warp, and the rest of reality slows down to a gentle crawl around me.
It’s a prized trait in the Military. They pinned medals on some of us. Indicating that the high adrenalin emergency response trait is mostly confused with courage under fire. Maybe they really are one and the same. I don’t know. But after I got out of the Army it took me half a lifetime to learn to function at normal adrenalin levels.
Is the ‘Courage under fire’ gene natures way of providing a mechanism to reduce cognitive disruption in a disaster for at least some of us?