Objectives To understand severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmissio... more Objectives To understand severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission risks, perceived risks and the feasibility of risk mitigations from experimental mass cultural events before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions were lifted. Design Prospective, population-wide observational study. Setting Four events (two nightclubs, an outdoor music festival and a business conference) open to Liverpool City Region UK residents, requiring a negative lateral flow test (LFT) within the 36 h before the event, but not requiring social distancing or face-coverings. Participants A total of 12,256 individuals attending one or more events between 28 April and 2 May 2021. Main outcome measures SARS-CoV-2 infections detected using audience self-swabbed (5–7 days post-event) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with viral genomic analysis of cases, plus linked National Health Service COVID-19 testing data. Audience experiences were gathered via questionnaires, foc...
Two studies examined whether rapport-based interviewing with child sexual abuse (CSA) suspects pr... more Two studies examined whether rapport-based interviewing with child sexual abuse (CSA) suspects provides greater interview yield that could result in overall cost-savings to the investigation. First, multi-level modelling was applied to 35 naturalistic CSA suspect interviews to establish whether rapport-based interviewing techniques increase “yield” – defined as information of investigative value. The Observing Rapport Based Interviewing Technique (ORBIT coding manual was used to code interviews; it includes an assessment of both interpersonal adaptive and maladaptive rapport-based interviewer engagement as well as motivational interviewing (MI) strategies. The impact of these two strands (interpersonal and MI) on extracting information of investigative value (including strengthening a case for court and safeguarding) were examined. Adaptive interpersonal strategies increased case strengthening and safeguarding yield, with motivational interviewing having the largest impact on safegu...
The paper explores the relationships between individual differences in intelligence and personali... more The paper explores the relationships between individual differences in intelligence and personality and the ability to extract critical information (and identify missing but required information) from a suspect’s brief sheet (i.e. model formulation) and develop a suitable line of questioning (i.e. approach strategizing) in interrogation scenarios. We hypothesised that cognitive flexibility, emotion management, low need for closure and rapport would all be predictors of these abilities. Two hundred and seventy-four participants of different backgrounds were exposed to two interrogation scenarios to assess model formation and approach strategizing abilities, as well as intelligence and personality tests. Benchmarks for performance were measured against two experienced interrogators and two psychologists’ calibrated performance. In terms of overall performance, only rapport and cognitive flexibility were significant positive predictors. Whereas only rapport was a positive predictor of ...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the potential predictors of anxiety about digita... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the potential predictors of anxiety about digital security, terrorist threats and support for high-tech counter measures.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1, 195 participants indicated their anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites. In Study 2, 107 participants indicated their anxiety about domestic terrorism, international terrorism and extremist groups. In Study 3, 261 participants indicated their support for high-tech counter-terrorism measures.FindingsStudy 1 suggests that whereas anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites was positively predicted by right-wing authoritarianism, anxiety about social networking was also negatively predicted by time spent online. Study 2 shows that time spent online was a negative predictor of anxiety about domestic terrorism. Study 3 indicates that the strongest positive predictor of support for all the measures w...
Multiteam systems (MTSs) are comprised of two or more interconnected teams working toward shared ... more Multiteam systems (MTSs) are comprised of two or more interconnected teams working toward shared superordinate goals but with unique sub-goals. To date, research has predominantly focused on how decisions are made and has viewed these cognitive processes as occurring within individuals. However, for MTSs operating in extreme environments such as disasters, it is often not a question of how decisions are made, but what is causing delays and failures to make decisions. To understand the causes of decision delay within these complex networks, it is important to focus on decision processes at the multiteam level. Using naturalistic observational and interview data collected during a multi-site, multiteam emergency response to a large-scale disaster exercise, this study examines both information sharing (what was shared, with whom, how long this took), and decision processes across teams (situational awareness—SA, plan formulation, and plan execution). Findings demonstrate that interdepe...
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2018
Research demonstrates that information sharing is facilitated by familiarity, and having a common... more Research demonstrates that information sharing is facilitated by familiarity, and having a common understanding of problems, use of lexicon, and semantic meaning. These factors can be difficult to develop within extreme environments such as disasters as members of the multi-agency system that responds often have limited experience of working together. Public inquiries repeatedly highlight the impact of information sharing difficulties on public safety, but limited academic research has focused on identifying concrete behaviours that facilitate interteam information sharing within such environments. This paper presents a case study of a national disaster response exercise involving 1,000 emergency responders. Data consist of structured observations, recordings of interteam meetings, and interviews with emergency responders. Results of mixed-method analysis indicate that interteam information sharing is delayed by limited situation awareness and poor articulation. Conversely, adopting behaviours that promote common frames for understanding interteam capabilities and information requirements improves information sharing and potentially reduces cognitive effort required to process information. Findings contribute to interteam communication theory by highlighting that in complex, timeconstrained environments, having a shared understanding of responsibilities and information requirement is important for minimizing redundant deliberation and improving relevance and speed. Practitioner points Facilitating the exchange and interpretation of relevant information is important for improving situation assessment, decision-making, and the implementation of appropriate actions for addressing risks. Interteam information sharing can be particularly challenging when teams are comprised of members from across different organizations with different language and cultures that must form ad hoc to rapidly respond to problems in extreme environments. Adopting communication strategies that develop common frames-of-reference can facilitate information sharing and interteam responses to disasters. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 2017
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
This study demonstrates how naturalistic decision-making (NDM) can be usefully applied to study ‘... more This study demonstrates how naturalistic decision-making (NDM) can be usefully applied to study ‘decision inertia’ – Namely the cognitive process associated with failures to execute action when a decision-maker struggles to choose between equally perceived aversive outcomes. Data assessed the response and recovery from a sudden impact disaster during a 2-day immersive simulated emergency response. Fourteen agencies (including police, fire, ambulance, and military) and 194 participants were involved in the exercise. By assessing the frequency, type, audience, and content of communications, and by reference to five subject matter experts’ slow time analyses of critical turning points during the incident, three barriers were identified as reducing multiagency information sharing and the macrocognitive understanding of the incident. When the decision problem was non-time-bounded, involved multiple agencies, and identification of superordinate goals was lacking, the communication between...
IMPACT Leaders spend years developing their abilities and acquiring expertise in their specialist... more IMPACT Leaders spend years developing their abilities and acquiring expertise in their specialist fields, in order to become competent and skilled decision-makers. These capabilities are tested during critical incidents—especially in situations where there is no official guidance or where experience is lacking (because of the rarity of such events). Training at this level needs to facilitate creativity, problem-solving, feedback, self-reflection, and hindsight knowledge, building a pool of uncertainty management skills to fall back on when faced with unprecedented situations beyond the scope of protocol (or current expertise).
Effective information sharing is essential for the successful management of disasters. But as 30 ... more Effective information sharing is essential for the successful management of disasters. But as 30 years’ worth of UK public inquiries repeatedly highlight, differences in terminology and goals across agencies can make this difficult to achieve. The growing scale and intensity of disasters raises additional challenges, with emergency responders being required to work across regions and even countries. The following study focuses on identifying facilitators and barriers to information sharing in dynamic contexts, where interdisciplinary teams from across geographic regions form ad hoc to rapidly address challenges. This case study draws on 257 naturalistic observations made by subject-matter experts during the largest disaster management exercise to take place in Europe to date. The 4-day exercise, funded by the European Commission, involved over 5,000 emergency responders from the UK, Cyprus, Hungary, and Italy, providing a unique opportunity to examine information sharing practices a...
This thesis examined decision making in the context of forced-choice situations, as characterised... more This thesis examined decision making in the context of forced-choice situations, as characterised by high-risk consequences and time-limited conditions, within an experimental decision paradigm. By mapping onto basic decision-making stages relating to evaluation, deliberation and implementation of a choice, this research looks at how environmental conditions (emotion) and information (advice) affect cognitive processing in forced-choice or "do or don't" scenarios. In order to identify these variations on a more fundamental level, a methodological framework was developed, which incorporates neurocognitive, behavioural and qualitative measures. Professor Laurence Alison, for whom I am immensely grateful to for his support, advice and patience. He was always able to encourage ideas and conversations, allowing me to articulate new propositions, enthusiastic about the possibility of advancing work in more unfamiliar areas. Professor Andrej Stancak, whose guidance was invaluable in the development of my ideas, and whose support helped me to advance these into new territories. Everyone at the University of Liverpool, and especially those people in the Centre for Critical and Major Incident Psychology, for their help and friendship. I would like to thank all those who assisted me during the data collection, and further supported me throughout my time in Liverpool. My good friends, near and far, who have helped me more than they will ever know. My family, for being supportive and enabling me to pursue new challenges, and encouraging me always to follow the goals that I set-out for myself. Finally, to all the professionals and participants who took time to take part in this research.
Objectives To understand severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmissio... more Objectives To understand severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission risks, perceived risks and the feasibility of risk mitigations from experimental mass cultural events before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions were lifted. Design Prospective, population-wide observational study. Setting Four events (two nightclubs, an outdoor music festival and a business conference) open to Liverpool City Region UK residents, requiring a negative lateral flow test (LFT) within the 36 h before the event, but not requiring social distancing or face-coverings. Participants A total of 12,256 individuals attending one or more events between 28 April and 2 May 2021. Main outcome measures SARS-CoV-2 infections detected using audience self-swabbed (5–7 days post-event) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with viral genomic analysis of cases, plus linked National Health Service COVID-19 testing data. Audience experiences were gathered via questionnaires, foc...
Two studies examined whether rapport-based interviewing with child sexual abuse (CSA) suspects pr... more Two studies examined whether rapport-based interviewing with child sexual abuse (CSA) suspects provides greater interview yield that could result in overall cost-savings to the investigation. First, multi-level modelling was applied to 35 naturalistic CSA suspect interviews to establish whether rapport-based interviewing techniques increase “yield” – defined as information of investigative value. The Observing Rapport Based Interviewing Technique (ORBIT coding manual was used to code interviews; it includes an assessment of both interpersonal adaptive and maladaptive rapport-based interviewer engagement as well as motivational interviewing (MI) strategies. The impact of these two strands (interpersonal and MI) on extracting information of investigative value (including strengthening a case for court and safeguarding) were examined. Adaptive interpersonal strategies increased case strengthening and safeguarding yield, with motivational interviewing having the largest impact on safegu...
The paper explores the relationships between individual differences in intelligence and personali... more The paper explores the relationships between individual differences in intelligence and personality and the ability to extract critical information (and identify missing but required information) from a suspect’s brief sheet (i.e. model formulation) and develop a suitable line of questioning (i.e. approach strategizing) in interrogation scenarios. We hypothesised that cognitive flexibility, emotion management, low need for closure and rapport would all be predictors of these abilities. Two hundred and seventy-four participants of different backgrounds were exposed to two interrogation scenarios to assess model formation and approach strategizing abilities, as well as intelligence and personality tests. Benchmarks for performance were measured against two experienced interrogators and two psychologists’ calibrated performance. In terms of overall performance, only rapport and cognitive flexibility were significant positive predictors. Whereas only rapport was a positive predictor of ...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the potential predictors of anxiety about digita... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the potential predictors of anxiety about digital security, terrorist threats and support for high-tech counter measures.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1, 195 participants indicated their anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites. In Study 2, 107 participants indicated their anxiety about domestic terrorism, international terrorism and extremist groups. In Study 3, 261 participants indicated their support for high-tech counter-terrorism measures.FindingsStudy 1 suggests that whereas anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites was positively predicted by right-wing authoritarianism, anxiety about social networking was also negatively predicted by time spent online. Study 2 shows that time spent online was a negative predictor of anxiety about domestic terrorism. Study 3 indicates that the strongest positive predictor of support for all the measures w...
Multiteam systems (MTSs) are comprised of two or more interconnected teams working toward shared ... more Multiteam systems (MTSs) are comprised of two or more interconnected teams working toward shared superordinate goals but with unique sub-goals. To date, research has predominantly focused on how decisions are made and has viewed these cognitive processes as occurring within individuals. However, for MTSs operating in extreme environments such as disasters, it is often not a question of how decisions are made, but what is causing delays and failures to make decisions. To understand the causes of decision delay within these complex networks, it is important to focus on decision processes at the multiteam level. Using naturalistic observational and interview data collected during a multi-site, multiteam emergency response to a large-scale disaster exercise, this study examines both information sharing (what was shared, with whom, how long this took), and decision processes across teams (situational awareness—SA, plan formulation, and plan execution). Findings demonstrate that interdepe...
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2018
Research demonstrates that information sharing is facilitated by familiarity, and having a common... more Research demonstrates that information sharing is facilitated by familiarity, and having a common understanding of problems, use of lexicon, and semantic meaning. These factors can be difficult to develop within extreme environments such as disasters as members of the multi-agency system that responds often have limited experience of working together. Public inquiries repeatedly highlight the impact of information sharing difficulties on public safety, but limited academic research has focused on identifying concrete behaviours that facilitate interteam information sharing within such environments. This paper presents a case study of a national disaster response exercise involving 1,000 emergency responders. Data consist of structured observations, recordings of interteam meetings, and interviews with emergency responders. Results of mixed-method analysis indicate that interteam information sharing is delayed by limited situation awareness and poor articulation. Conversely, adopting behaviours that promote common frames for understanding interteam capabilities and information requirements improves information sharing and potentially reduces cognitive effort required to process information. Findings contribute to interteam communication theory by highlighting that in complex, timeconstrained environments, having a shared understanding of responsibilities and information requirement is important for minimizing redundant deliberation and improving relevance and speed. Practitioner points Facilitating the exchange and interpretation of relevant information is important for improving situation assessment, decision-making, and the implementation of appropriate actions for addressing risks. Interteam information sharing can be particularly challenging when teams are comprised of members from across different organizations with different language and cultures that must form ad hoc to rapidly respond to problems in extreme environments. Adopting communication strategies that develop common frames-of-reference can facilitate information sharing and interteam responses to disasters. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 2017
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the recor... more The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
This study demonstrates how naturalistic decision-making (NDM) can be usefully applied to study ‘... more This study demonstrates how naturalistic decision-making (NDM) can be usefully applied to study ‘decision inertia’ – Namely the cognitive process associated with failures to execute action when a decision-maker struggles to choose between equally perceived aversive outcomes. Data assessed the response and recovery from a sudden impact disaster during a 2-day immersive simulated emergency response. Fourteen agencies (including police, fire, ambulance, and military) and 194 participants were involved in the exercise. By assessing the frequency, type, audience, and content of communications, and by reference to five subject matter experts’ slow time analyses of critical turning points during the incident, three barriers were identified as reducing multiagency information sharing and the macrocognitive understanding of the incident. When the decision problem was non-time-bounded, involved multiple agencies, and identification of superordinate goals was lacking, the communication between...
IMPACT Leaders spend years developing their abilities and acquiring expertise in their specialist... more IMPACT Leaders spend years developing their abilities and acquiring expertise in their specialist fields, in order to become competent and skilled decision-makers. These capabilities are tested during critical incidents—especially in situations where there is no official guidance or where experience is lacking (because of the rarity of such events). Training at this level needs to facilitate creativity, problem-solving, feedback, self-reflection, and hindsight knowledge, building a pool of uncertainty management skills to fall back on when faced with unprecedented situations beyond the scope of protocol (or current expertise).
Effective information sharing is essential for the successful management of disasters. But as 30 ... more Effective information sharing is essential for the successful management of disasters. But as 30 years’ worth of UK public inquiries repeatedly highlight, differences in terminology and goals across agencies can make this difficult to achieve. The growing scale and intensity of disasters raises additional challenges, with emergency responders being required to work across regions and even countries. The following study focuses on identifying facilitators and barriers to information sharing in dynamic contexts, where interdisciplinary teams from across geographic regions form ad hoc to rapidly address challenges. This case study draws on 257 naturalistic observations made by subject-matter experts during the largest disaster management exercise to take place in Europe to date. The 4-day exercise, funded by the European Commission, involved over 5,000 emergency responders from the UK, Cyprus, Hungary, and Italy, providing a unique opportunity to examine information sharing practices a...
This thesis examined decision making in the context of forced-choice situations, as characterised... more This thesis examined decision making in the context of forced-choice situations, as characterised by high-risk consequences and time-limited conditions, within an experimental decision paradigm. By mapping onto basic decision-making stages relating to evaluation, deliberation and implementation of a choice, this research looks at how environmental conditions (emotion) and information (advice) affect cognitive processing in forced-choice or "do or don't" scenarios. In order to identify these variations on a more fundamental level, a methodological framework was developed, which incorporates neurocognitive, behavioural and qualitative measures. Professor Laurence Alison, for whom I am immensely grateful to for his support, advice and patience. He was always able to encourage ideas and conversations, allowing me to articulate new propositions, enthusiastic about the possibility of advancing work in more unfamiliar areas. Professor Andrej Stancak, whose guidance was invaluable in the development of my ideas, and whose support helped me to advance these into new territories. Everyone at the University of Liverpool, and especially those people in the Centre for Critical and Major Incident Psychology, for their help and friendship. I would like to thank all those who assisted me during the data collection, and further supported me throughout my time in Liverpool. My good friends, near and far, who have helped me more than they will ever know. My family, for being supportive and enabling me to pursue new challenges, and encouraging me always to follow the goals that I set-out for myself. Finally, to all the professionals and participants who took time to take part in this research.
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