ebook img

Health and Performance. Health and Performance PDF

416 Pages·1992·5.827 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Health and Performance. Health and Performance

HANDBOOK OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE VOLUME 2 HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE Edited by A.P. Smith & D.M. Jones ACADEMIC PRESS Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers LONDON SAN DIEGO NEW YORK BOSTON SYDNEY TOKYO TORONTO ACADEMIC PRESS LIMITED 24-28 Oval Road London NWl 7DX United States Edition published by ACADEMIC PRESS INC. San Diego, CA 92101 Copyright © 1992 by ACADEMIC PRESS LIMITED except for Chapter 3 by H.R. Lieberman All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by photostat, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers This book is printed on acid-free paper A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-12-650352-4 Typeset by P&R Typesetters Ltd, Salisbury, Wilts and printed in Great Britain by Hartnolls Ltd., Bodmin, Cornwall. Contributors D. Benton, Department of Psychology, University College, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK H.V. Curran, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK I.J. Deary, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK V. Egan. Infectious Diseases Unit, Ward 7a, City Hospital, Greenbank Drive, Edinburgh, EH10 5AJ, UK F. Finnigan, Behavioural Sciences Group, 4 Lilybank Gardens, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK J.F. Golding, Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6SZ, UK. G. Goodwin, MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh, EH10 5 HA, UK R. Hammersley, Behavioural Sciences Group, 4 Lilybank Gardens, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK L.R. Hartley, Department of Psychology, Murdoch University, Western Australia 6150, Australia A.M. Kendrick, Health Psychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff, CFl 3YG, UK H.R. Lieberman, Military Performance and Neuroscience Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Ma. 01760-5007, USA K. Millar, Behavioural Sciences Group, 4 Lilybank Gardens, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK viii Contributors A.C. Parrott, Department of Psychology, Polytechnic of East London, London, E15 4LZ, UK A.P. Smith, Health Psychology Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff, CFl 3YG, UK K.A. Wesnes, Cognitive Drug Research, 13 The Grove, Reading, RGl 4RB, UK General Preface In this three volume series, the effects of different states and environments on performance are examined. That contemporary research in this area could not be encompassed in one volume marks not just the diversity of effects which now come under this rubric but also its maturity as a subject area. Twenty years ago, this would have been a slim volume indeed! What are the factors which caused the growth of interest which led to the book? No single factor can be identified, rather the interplay of several factors seems to be responsible. Initially, interest centred on the use of task-performance as measures of central nervous system efficiency and as indices which by-passed the difficulty of obtaining objective measures of the person's state. Models of human performance became more refined in the decades after the Second World War, because the judicious selection of tasks meant that a more analytic approach could be used. .This approach yielded more than a simple index of performance to represent overall efficiency. Rather, using a battery of tasks or by careful analysis of the microstructure of individual tasks (often focusing on the interplay of several measures), qualitative judgements could be made about the action of the agent. The term 'efficiency' in this context is somewhat misleading because it seems to imply that the main interest is in loss of efficiency and in obtaining some single quantitative index of the person's state. Although this might be part of the motivation, particularly for the early studies, latterly much more interest has centred upon discerning different classes of response. This helps to further our understanding of the physiological basis for each of the effects and the likely interplay of factors. The increasing portability and cheapness of microprocessors has also played a role in the increasing scope of work. By using microprocessors, field observations may now be made with the accuracy that was hitherto only possible in laboratories. We can now judge the effect of a particular factor at the place of work and moreover for extended periods of time. In each of the contributions, authors have provided an up-to-date account of the empirical χ General Preface work in the area. Where possible, findings are presented from both laboratory and field settings and in each case discussion of methodological issues will also be found. Some work is still in the very early stages and hence highly developed and integrated theories are not always the rule. The volumes provide, in their breadth and depth, a cross-section of interesting work in the area of human performance. The three volumes reflect the division of work in the area into three distinct but often interacting domains. Volume 1 has its roots in occupational health and work psychology. It contains some of the longest established areas of interest: noise, heat, distraction and vibration. New industrial processes and machines have introduced new concerns such as the increasing use of solvents in the chemical industry, the concern about hyperbaric environments in the search for oil and the behavioural effects of electrical fields and ionization in the distribution of electricity. The contents of Volume 1 also reflect the fact that much more work is now undertaken in offices than in factories (at least in the Western world). Visual display units, once a rarity, now seem ubiquitous. Although the settings in which they are used are by and large more hospitable in some respects than the traditional shop-floor, the pace, content and organization of work will still have consequences on efficiency. Volume 2 contains research which is very much less traditional and which has been marked by enormous growth in the last decade. Here the emphasis is on the relationship between health and behaviour. Three complementary approaches can be discerned. First, there is growing evidence and concern about the effect of behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption on performance and well-being. Second, the behavioural consequences of illness (acute and chronic, mental and physical) in terms of the effects on performance are examined. Third, and perhaps the longest recognized, is the interest in psychological side-effects of treatment both on mental and physical health. Volume 3 continues to regard the state of the person, but its scope is in terms of chronic, long term, slowly-changing effects of state. This volume also takes up the theme of chronic and acute change in state by setting aside a section to the study of individual differences in state and trait. The periodicity of the day—night cycle has implications for efficiency because alertness varies with the time of day, the nature and, more particularly, the length of work. Even when undisturbed, these factors produce a change in efficiency. When disturbed, by shiftwork or emergencies, the consequences are normally much more dramatic. There is obvious practical interest in knowing what effects new patterns of work will have on the person both in the short term for efficiency and in the long term, for health. Preface to Volume 2 There has been considerable recent interest in the relationship between health and behaviour. Much of the research has been concerned with the role of psychological characteristics in susceptibility to illness. Other studies have concentrated on the effects of behaviour, such as nutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption and exercise on health. In addition, psychologists have also examined both acute and chronic illnesses, and have been involved in the treatment of both physical and mental disorders. The present volume aims to complement these approaches by considering in detail the relationship between health and performance efficiency. The volume consists of four sections. The first is concerned with nutrition and performance, with Chapter 1 reviewing the effects of meals, and Chapter 2 the effects of micro-nutrients. The second section of the volume describes the effects of habitual substance use on performance. Chapters 3 and 4 review the effects of two psychoactive substances found in drinks, namely caffeine and alcohol. Following this. Chapters 5 and 6 describe our current knowledge of the effects of smoking, nicotine and cannabis on performance. The third part of the volume considers the effects of illness on performance. Two of the chapters are concerned with the impact of viral illnesses, with Chapter 7 describing recent research on influenza, colds and performance, and Chapter 8, HIV infection and the neuropsychological sequelae of AIDS. Two chronic conditions are covered in the next two chapters, with Chapter 9 discussing diabetes and performance, and Chapter 10 describing the behavioural effects associated with the chronic fatigue syndrome. The final section of the volume considers the effects of pharmacological treatment and possible adverse effects associated with medical procedures. Chapter 11 reviews the effects of major and minor tranquillisers on performance, and Chapter 12 evaluates the extent to which anti-depressants influence performance. The final chapter. Chapter 13, covers recent research on the effects of anaesthetics, analgesics and performance. xii Preface to Volume 2 Overall, the chapters in the volume provide wide ranging coverage of many different aspects of the relationship between health and performance. However, all chapters provide both detailed descriptions of the area of research, and also critical evaluations of the methodology, theory and practical implications of the findings. We believe that this volume has achieved the aim of integrating a range of topics to produce a detailed profile of health and performance. We would like to thank the authors for their contributions and also thank everyone else who has helped us in the various stages of our editorial duties. Andrew Smith and Dylan Jones List of Contents for Volumes 1, 2 & 3 VOLUME 1 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Contributors General Preface Volume Preface List of Contents for Volumes 1, 2 & 3 1 Noise and Performance A.P. SMITH and D.M. JONES 2 Irrelevant Speech and Cognition D.M. JONES and N. MORRIS 3 Vibration MJ. GRIFFIN 4 Heat and Performance S. HYGGE 5 Cold S. BROOKE and H. ELLIS 6 Air Pollution and Behaviour S.M. HORVATH and D.M. DRECHSLER-PARKS 7 Organic Solvents B. STOLLERY 8 Hyperbaric Environments S. BROOKE and H. ELLIS 9 Electrical Fields B. STOLLERY xiv Volume Contents 10 Ionization E.W. FARMER 11 The Visual Environment E. MEGAW 12 Visual Display Units A.J. TATTERSALL VOLUME 2 HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE Contributors General Preface Volume Preface List of Contents for Volumes 1, 2 & 3 1 Meals and Performance A.P. SMITH and A.M. KENDRICK 2 Vitamin and Mineral Intake and Human Behaviour D. BENTON 3 Caffeine H.R. LIEBERMAN 4 The Effects of Alcohol on Performance F. FINNIGAN and R. HAMMERSLEY 5 Smoking, Nicotine and Human Performance K.A. WESNES and A.C. PARROTT 6 Cannabis J.F. GOLDING 7 Colds, Influenza and Performance A.P. SMITH 8 HIV and AIDS V. EGAN and G. GOODWIN 9 Diabetes, Hypoglycaemia and Cognitive Performance IJ. DEARY 10 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Performance A.P. SMITH 11 Prescribed Psychotropic Drugs: the Major and Minor Tranquillizers L.R. HARTLEY 12 Antidepressant Drugs, Cognitive Function and Human Performance H.V. CURRAN

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.