This book is the seminal work on understanding how people make decisions under stress. It stems directly from the U.S. Navy’s research on the tragedy surrounding the downing of an Iranian air bus which killed 290 civilians. The study was conducted over more than nine years and focused specifically on people in actual conditions so that there was no doubt that they were stressed. Moreover, it involves decisions that involve both individuals and teams. The book is expensive (nearly $50 as of this writing) and seems to have been written by PhDs as a text and to report findings but is still a fairly easy read and well worth the effort to understand it. It is concise and will be valuable as a reference book even if not fully read.
Janis A. Cannon-Bowers and Eduardo Salas, Making Decisions Under Stress: Implications for Individual and Team Training, American Psychological Association Publishing, Washington D.C., 1998 (424 pages) 1
Recommended by Sid Heal in Episodes 1 & 2