Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response
IntroductionA primary hazard of working in cold maritime environments is the potential for a substantial man overboard situation in freezing waters. Sudden cold-water immersion (CWI) triggers the cold shock response (CSR), which consists of cardiorespiratory responses that increase the chance of dro...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1512011/full |
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| author | Max Kailler Smith Max Kailler Smith Rebecca Weller Rebecca Weller Tony Duong Tony Duong Rebecca McClintock Rebecca McClintock Matthew Peterson Nathaniel Barr Douglas M. Jones Timothy L. Dunn |
| author_facet | Max Kailler Smith Max Kailler Smith Rebecca Weller Rebecca Weller Tony Duong Tony Duong Rebecca McClintock Rebecca McClintock Matthew Peterson Nathaniel Barr Douglas M. Jones Timothy L. Dunn |
| author_sort | Max Kailler Smith |
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| description | IntroductionA primary hazard of working in cold maritime environments is the potential for a substantial man overboard situation in freezing waters. Sudden cold-water immersion (CWI) triggers the cold shock response (CSR), which consists of cardiorespiratory responses that increase the chance of drowning. If cold shock response severity can be mitigated, life-saving actions must be taken within the first 10 min, as after this time frame drowning occurs due to cold incapacitation. To date, research shows that executive functioning is generally impaired by intense, acute stress, which implies the ability to think through potential actions to maximize survival would also be impaired by the cold shock response.MethodsTo examine whether the severity of cold shock response impairs higher-level thinking in a group, 29 active duty service members completed a group format Divergent Association Task (DAT; 4–5 per group) prior to and during a 13-min cold-water immersion (water temperature: 1.3°C, air temperature: −2.7°C).ResultsResults showed no relationship between cold shock response magnitude, indexed by peak heart rate, and DAT performance. However, results indicated that those with lower skin temperatures performed worse on the DAT.DiscussionResults suggest that the ability to engage in divergent thinking is relatively preserved in the critical ~10-min window although skin cooling may bias attention toward the cold stress impacting task performance. Furthermore, subjective reports of the severity of the initial gasp tracked with peak heart rate demonstrating potential utility of subjective responses in the absence of respiratory measurements. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-642d72ec0e624c7a990b5a948d54d270 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
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| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-642d72ec0e624c7a990b5a948d54d2702025-02-12T07:25:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-02-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15120111512011Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock responseMax Kailler Smith0Max Kailler Smith1Rebecca Weller2Rebecca Weller3Tony Duong4Tony Duong5Rebecca McClintock6Rebecca McClintock7Matthew Peterson8Nathaniel Barr9Douglas M. Jones10Timothy L. Dunn11Warfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesLeidos Inc., San Diego, CA, United StatesWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesLeidos Inc., San Diego, CA, United StatesWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesLeidos Inc., San Diego, CA, United StatesWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesLeidos Inc., San Diego, CA, United StatesWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesThe School of Humanities and Creativity, Sheridan College, Oakville, ON, CanadaWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesWarfighter Performance Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, United StatesIntroductionA primary hazard of working in cold maritime environments is the potential for a substantial man overboard situation in freezing waters. Sudden cold-water immersion (CWI) triggers the cold shock response (CSR), which consists of cardiorespiratory responses that increase the chance of drowning. If cold shock response severity can be mitigated, life-saving actions must be taken within the first 10 min, as after this time frame drowning occurs due to cold incapacitation. To date, research shows that executive functioning is generally impaired by intense, acute stress, which implies the ability to think through potential actions to maximize survival would also be impaired by the cold shock response.MethodsTo examine whether the severity of cold shock response impairs higher-level thinking in a group, 29 active duty service members completed a group format Divergent Association Task (DAT; 4–5 per group) prior to and during a 13-min cold-water immersion (water temperature: 1.3°C, air temperature: −2.7°C).ResultsResults showed no relationship between cold shock response magnitude, indexed by peak heart rate, and DAT performance. However, results indicated that those with lower skin temperatures performed worse on the DAT.DiscussionResults suggest that the ability to engage in divergent thinking is relatively preserved in the critical ~10-min window although skin cooling may bias attention toward the cold stress impacting task performance. Furthermore, subjective reports of the severity of the initial gasp tracked with peak heart rate demonstrating potential utility of subjective responses in the absence of respiratory measurements.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1512011/fulldivergent thinkingcold shockcold stresscold-water survivalanxietypanic |
| spellingShingle | Max Kailler Smith Max Kailler Smith Rebecca Weller Rebecca Weller Tony Duong Tony Duong Rebecca McClintock Rebecca McClintock Matthew Peterson Nathaniel Barr Douglas M. Jones Timothy L. Dunn Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response Frontiers in Psychology divergent thinking cold shock cold stress cold-water survival anxiety panic |
| title | Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| title_full | Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| title_fullStr | Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| title_full_unstemmed | Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| title_short | Divergent thinking in groups during cold-water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| title_sort | divergent thinking in groups during cold water immersion is impaired by cold stress not the cold shock response |
| topic | divergent thinking cold shock cold stress cold-water survival anxiety panic |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1512011/full |
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