Startle reaction: Capturing experiential cues to provide guidelines towards the design of realistic training scenarios

Abstract

Unexpected events experienced during a crisis situation, may startle an individual causing them to momentarily freeze, and become unsure of what to do next. This research identifies event cues and subsequent responses to them. Ten emergency personnel were interviewed about their experiences with unexpected events, where they had experienced a startle reaction. We used a new methodology (CUUES) to investigate cognitive and behavioural processes used to adapt and respond to them. Results suggest that regardless of experiencing of experiencing startle, participants were able to gain control of the situation. Our results suggest initial guidelines for the development of realistic training scenarios.