Introduction

Decision Making Under Stress: Emerging Themes and Applications presents a state of the art review of psychological theory, research and practice on decision making in stressful environments and emergency situations. In a high technology society, new developments are matched by increasingly challenging risks for the organisations who have to manage them and the social scientists who strive to understand them (Reason, 1997; Turner & Pidgeon, 1997). This book focuses on the experienced decision makers who deal with such risks, for example those in charge of flight decks, firegrounds, emergency control centres and warfare operations rooms. There is a growing demand for a better understanding of decision making in critical hazardous situations to improve selection, training and operational performance.