Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive paralysis in an emergency: the role of the supervisory attentional system.
AU - Leach, John
PY - 2005/2
Y1 - 2005/2
N2 - Many witnesses attest that victims of a disaster often perish because they `freeze' in the face of danger. It has been proposed that this cognitive paralysis occurs due to temporal and cognitive constraints on survival response times while leaving open the question of which cognitive component is implicated in this behavior. This paper proposes, firstly, that the temporal constraints which occur during an emergency inhibit the functioning of the supervisory attentional system (SAS), which leads to the victim showing: 1) an appropriate response, if trained; 2) stereotypical or otherwise irrational behavior, if untrained; or 3) cognitive paralysis. Secondly, that the main role of the SAS is to operate as a temporal buffer, enabling a survival response to be prepared prior to facing a life-threatening event and not as a real-time immediate responder. It is argued that the initial cognitive paralysis differs at the cognitive and neurological levels from the more prolonged hypoactive behavior commonly seen in victims rescued from disasters and which is considered to be a form of disassociative reaction.
AB - Many witnesses attest that victims of a disaster often perish because they `freeze' in the face of danger. It has been proposed that this cognitive paralysis occurs due to temporal and cognitive constraints on survival response times while leaving open the question of which cognitive component is implicated in this behavior. This paper proposes, firstly, that the temporal constraints which occur during an emergency inhibit the functioning of the supervisory attentional system (SAS), which leads to the victim showing: 1) an appropriate response, if trained; 2) stereotypical or otherwise irrational behavior, if untrained; or 3) cognitive paralysis. Secondly, that the main role of the SAS is to operate as a temporal buffer, enabling a survival response to be prepared prior to facing a life-threatening event and not as a real-time immediate responder. It is argued that the initial cognitive paralysis differs at the cognitive and neurological levels from the more prolonged hypoactive behavior commonly seen in victims rescued from disasters and which is considered to be a form of disassociative reaction.
KW - survival psychology
KW - cognitive paralysis
KW - supervisory attentional system
M3 - Journal article
VL - 76
SP - 134
EP - 136
JO - Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
JF - Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
SN - 0095-6562
IS - 2
ER -