Research for Psychology

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Psychology and the Mined: Overcoming Psychological Barriers to the Use of Statistics in Naval Mine Warfare
May 1, 2006
Statistical methods can be used to assess the risk posed by naval minefields to ships that are transiting or loitering in mined waterspace. However, there are psychological impediments to the effective use of this information, which can result in sub-optimal decision-making regarding whether or how to navigate in mined waters. This paper characterizes how specific heuristics (mental shortcuts used in addressing a situation) can affect decision-making, and offers palliatives that can improve the robustness of decision-making in a potentially mined environment.
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An Examination of the Repatriated Prisoners of War Data Bank
December 1, 1998
We examine the Repatriated Prisoners of War Data Bank (RPWDB), which primarily includes information for 1978 through 1997 for repatriated prisoners of war (RPOWs). Our strategy is to explore the files and categorize them with respect to type of data, number of unique RPOWs in the files by year, data variable available for use, and summary details for number variables. We find that, of the 38 files on the RPWDB, 21 have data for Vietnam-era RPOWs. Of these, we find 13 files that are useful for research purposes and 8 that are either administrative tracking files or an extract of another file. Appendix A details the number of occurrences of each RPOW by file, while appendix B shows the same information for the control group. Appendices C through J contains the details of the relevant information for each of the 13 files holding data relevant to research use.
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The Repatriated Prisoner of War Study: A Bibliograhpy of Related Literature From Peer-Reviewed Journals, 1975 To Present
September 1, 1998
The Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) is conducting a study for the Naval Operational Medicine Institute (NOMI) in support of its Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies. As part of this effort, we are helping the center develop and conduct a long-term research agenda on the effects of captivity. To provide background information to researchers working on issues related to the long-term effects of the POW experience, CNA is maintaining an electronic catalogue of literature that relates to POW health. This bibliography is organized by topic and title of journal article, with the majority of entries from peer-reviewed journals. Internet users can access the bibliography at the following address: http://www.cna.org/rpow/Biblio2.htm.
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Psychological Aspects of Mine Warfare
March 1, 1983
This paper examines historical and psychological data concerning mine warfare, and goes beyond those observations to consider how the psychological warhead in minefields can be exploited.
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Cybernetics and Behavior Therapy
February 1, 1981
This paper discusses the contribution that cybernetics can make to the practice of behavior therapy. It is proposed that the processes underlying behavioral disorders can best be understood using the concepts of cybernetics and that a cybernetic analysis of a given behavioral situation can be helpful in developing a therapeutic strategy. To make these ideas concrete, a specific example - the analysis and treatment of the fear of flying - is discussed. Following this example, conclusions are drawn concerning the implications of the cybernetic point of view for behavior therapy. Finally, what might be called a cybernetic theory of man is introduced, and its relevance to behavior therapy is discussed.
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