Performance Under Stress

Editors Hancock and Szalma (psychology, U. of Central Florida) have compiled a collection of monographs on stress and soldier performance on the modern electronic battlefield. Derived primarily from a multi-year, Multiple University Research Initiative project, this collection contains work from leading researchers. It contains a variety of methodological and conceptual approaches from traditional laboratory modeling to realistic simulations, from field simulations to personal experiences of actual combat conditions. The editors note that information overload is a major form of stress experienced by both soldiers and those involved in less life-threatening pursuits, such as business, academia, and research. Areas discussed include designing human-machine interfaces for people in high-stress conditions, adaptability of supporting computer systems and their place as members of a "team." The volume is intended for anyone who faces work-related stress and for professionals who study these and related issues. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter A. Hancock is Provost Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology, the Institute for Simulation and Training, and at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida, USA. He currently holds a courtesy appointment as a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and as an Adjunct Senior Research Scientist at the Transportation Institute of the University of Michigan. Dr. James L. Szalma is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department, and is the director of the Performance Research Laboratory (PeRL), at the University of Central Florida.