Poster london ECP Conference 2011

1. PERSONALITY AND SELF-REGULATION DIFFERENCES AS KEY
FACTORS OF DECISION MAKING EFFICIENCY IN EMERGENCY
SITUATIONS
TATIANA A. INDINA PhD, senior researcher, laboratory of Self-Regulation (Tatiana.indina@gmail.com)
PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF EDUCATION, MOSCOW, RUSSIA
INTRODUCTION a specificity of interrelation between decision making efficiency and intensity
of personality and regulatory features of a subject.
Under the conditions of today’s Russian reality the issue of study of personality and
regulation differences of professionals who make decisions in emergency situations Picture 1. Relation between decision making, self-regulation and personality
is as relevant as ever. Emergency situations (ES) are primarily the specific conditions indexes
of subjective activity realization and, particularly, decision making (DM) in uncertain
environment.
Recently conducted theoretical historical data analysis made it possible to point out
the 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 standards
and instructions,
• Need to generate non-standard decisions in non-standard situations,
• Need to work in team and take concerted actions in an emergency situation. Picture 4. Personality profiles for effective and not effective decision making
Emergency events of the current reality raise an issue of necessity of development
and practical application of real instruments aimed at assessment and improvement
of efficiency of decision making in extreme living conditions and professional situa-
tions, as well as of maximum use of individual regulatory and personality resources
for increasing efficiency of decisions made under ES conditions.
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
The present research is carried out within the framework of a regulatory approach
to decision making. Studies of researchers of self-regulation psychology laboratory According to the results, DM parameters of information acquisition and situation
of the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education show that well- evaluation in decision making significantly positively correlate with a regulatory
formed conscious self-regulation system as an ability to manage and organize one’s feature of Modelling of significant operational conditions (r=0,37; p<0,01) and
own activities for achievement of stated objectives ensures efficiency of profession- (r=0,39; p<0,01) correspondingly. Acquisition of the necessary information and
al activities of specialists (Konopkin O.A., Morosanova V.I., Osnitskiy A.K., Oboznov situation evaluation are the essential preparatory stage of decision making and
A.A., etc.) imply that a subject creates a model of conditions crucial for decision making.
In an emergency situation it is evaluation of means necessary for liquidation
According to our assumptions, regulatory sphere in decision making provides con- of its consequences, required resources, level of specialists training, etc. (See
scious control and management of one’s own activity on all stages of decision making
and implementation, ensuring decision planning and programming activities, mod- picture 1.)
elling of significant decision conditions, introduction of necessary corrections to de- Formation of subjective task representation in decision making requires that a
cision, assessment of results and consequences of the decision made. The conscious specialist clearly states objectives of activities and provides high level of Au-
self-regulation system makes it possible to mobilize personality and cognitive re- tonomy. According to the obtained results, formation of subjective task repre-
sources of a person in order to solve a lot of practical tasks. sentation as a decision making stage is positively related to regulatory features
From the regulatory approach positions we determine decision making as a process of Autonomy (r=0.78; p<0.01) and Goal planning (r=0.53; p<0.01).
consisting in conscious comparison by the subject of decision alternatives, taking
into account his/her objectives, acquisition of information necessary for analysis of Construction of alternatives as one of the basic decision making parameters
significant external and internal conditions, choice of methods and means of deci- significantly positively correlates with a regulatory feature of Programming
sion implementation, as well as conscious assessment of its results and consequences (r=0.54; p<0.01) and elaboration of an executive action programme – Program-
(Morosanova V.I., Indina T.A., 2006, 2009). ming (r=0.33; p<0.01). The choice of decision alternative significantly positively Picture 3. Regulation profiles in effective and not effective decision making
correlates with the feature of regulatory Flexibility (r=0.70; p<0.001) – an ability
We suppose that onscious self-regulation system of a person plays a key role on all to reorganize an action programme taking into account changing circumstances, Specialists with the highest decision making efficiency are characterized with
stages of decision preparation and organization. It enables involvement of person- and a regulatory feature of Results assessment (r=0.32; p<0.05) – ability of a pronounced regulatory features of result assessment, modelling of significant
ality and cognitive resources in the decision making process, thus providing man- subject to forecast and evaluate consequences of decisions made. operational conditions, decision programming. Personality particularities of spe-
agement and control over efficiency of the decision to be made on the part of con- cialists who are highly efficient in decision making include such pronounced
sciousness. Decision implementation significantly positively correlates with Programming features as Openness to new experience, Rationality, Agreeableness.
(r=0.41; p<0.01) and reveals in stage-wise performance of focused actions aimed
at implementation of the decision made. Specialists with low decision making efficiency are characterized with low level
of development of the basic regulatory features and high level of neuroticism
METHOD, PROCEDURE & MEA- Picture 2. Relations between decision making effectiveness with self-regu-
lation and personality traits.
and readiness to risk.
SURES As it follows from the obtained results of an empirical research, decision making
efficiency depends, first of all, on development in extreme profile specialists
Hypothesis of our research consisted in an assumption that there is an interrelation of such features as Agreeableness, Rationality, Openness to new experience,
between intensity of regulatory and personality features and specificity of decision as well as training of their conscious self-regulation system, i.e. ability to con-
making in ES; and efficiency of decision making of specialists in ES is ensured by sciously control their activities and, therefore, decision making. Developed abil-
means of regulatory and personality differences. ity of situation analysis and control is an indispensable component of efficient
Research sample decision making.
The total research sample amounted to 180 persons – extreme profile specialists Complexes of regulatory and personality features pointed out in our research
(officers, rescuers and firemen, bodyguards and personnel of security services of serve as mechanisms enabling efficient making of decisions by specialists in
Moscow and Republic of Tatarstan) – aged from 24 to 60 years. emergency situations.
Research methods Our research proves that decision making efficiency and personality components
are interrelated through conscious self-regulation system. Regulatory sphere
- To assess development of regulatory sphere and study the role of regulatory provides involvement of individual personality features in a decision making
mechanisms in decision making a questionnaire “Self-Regulation Profile Question- process, which allows to increase its efficiency as a whole, as well as efficiency
naire” (SPQ) by Morosanova V.I. (2004), including such scales as Goal planning, of certain stages thereof.
Actions programming, Conditions modelling, Result assessment, as well as such reg-
ulatory and personality features as Flexibility and Autonomy, was used; High level of conscious self-regulation and related subject personality features
of Agreeableness, Rationality, Openness to new experience – conditions the
- To study personality decision making features a technique “Personality Factors probability that decisions that such specialist would make in emergency situa-
Of Decision Making” by Kornilova T.V. (2003), allowing to detect Rationality and
Risk readiness, was used; tions will be efficient.
- 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- FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS
gency Situations” and an authorial experimental model “Decision Making in Emer- 1) The carried out research of regulatory and personality features of extreme pro-
gency Situations”, containing real decision making situations from professional ex- file specialists allowed to identify and describe parameters important for assessment
perience of rescuers, were developed. According to the obtained research results, overall efficiency of a decision is of decision making efficiency in ES– information acquisition, situation evaluation,
based on developed Modelling of significant conditions (r=0.67; p<0.01), Assess- formation of subjective task representation, construction and choice of alternative,
Development of an experimental model for assessment of efficiency of decision decision implementation.
making in emergency situations ment of decision result (r=0.52; p<0.01) and General level of self-regulation
system (r=0.52; p<0.01). (See Picture 2) 2) There were determined significant interrelations between each of decision
Preliminary work for development of an experimental model for assessment of de- making parameters and regulatory and personality features of subjects. General
cision making extreme profile specialists included: 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- decision making efficiency positively correlates with development of a general lev-
- information acquisition by means of observation of professional activities of offi- tablished that Information acquisition in decision making significantly positively el of conscious self-regulation system, regulatory features of Modelling and Result
cers of the EMERCOM search-and-rescue detachments (SRD), correlates with a personality feature of Openness to new experience (r=0.33; assessment, as well as personality features of Openness to new experience, Agree-
ableness and Rationality.
p<0.01). A decision index of Situation evaluation (r=0.45;p<0.01) significantly
- questioning with the use of the developed authorial questionnaire “Decision making relates to a personality feature of Openness to experience. Readiness to per-
in emergency situations”, 3) Specialists with the highest decision making efficiency are characterized with
ceive and consider new information ensures a more adequate and impartial as- pronounced regulatory features of result assessment, modelling of significant oper-
- analysis of official documents (rescuers training standards, qualifying require- sessment of an emergency situation during decision making. The parameters ational conditions, decision programming. Personality particularities of specialists
ments, professional rescuer textbook), of Construction of alternatives (r=0.19; p<0.05) and Decision implementation who are highly efficient in decision making include such pronounced features as
(r=0.27; p<0.05) turn out to be positively correlated with a personality feature Openness to new experience, Rationality, Agreeableness. Specialists with low deci-
- analysis of video-materials of professional activities and drills of members of of Agreeableness – readiness of specialists to work in team and take concerted sion making efficiency are characterized with low level of development of the basic
search-and-rescue detachments, actions for liquidation of ES consequences. regulatory features and high level of neuroticism and readiness to risk.
- carrying out of expert interviews (with head of detachment, shift supervisors, duty Choice of alternative in decision making negatively correlates with a personal 4) Self-regulation processes enable organization of a decision making process, pro-
officers, rescuers), feature of Neuroticism (r=0.32; p<0.05) and positively correlates with a person- vide conscious control thereof on the part of consciousness, determine involvement
ality feature of Conscientiousness (r=0.21; p<0.05), which is understood in this of necessary personality resources in decision making process. Conscious self-regu-
- carrying out of a focus-group with EMERCOM rescuers, lation system development plays a key role in providing decision making efficiency
case as scrupulousness, punctuality and reliability in performing professional
- modelling of decision making situations by means of practical tasks with the help tasks. According to the obtained results, general efficiency of decision making of extreme profile specialists in emergency situations.
of experts. of extreme profile specialists in ES is related to intensity of such personality
features as Openness to new experience (r=33, p<0,01) Agreeableness (t=0,35,
The carried out research enabled description of basic stages of decision making in
the professional activities of extreme profile specialists. It was stated that decision
making in the conditions of ES includes the following stages:
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