Predicting the Cognitive Performance of Individuals and Teams

The objectives of this SBIR Phase I research program are to design and implement an unobtrusive methodology that can be used to rapidly and easily predict individual and team cognitive readiness to perform critical missions. The methodology proposedherein provides a rich decisional framework for cognitive readiness assessment in complex environments. Among the attributes offered by the approach are design flexibility (e.g., in choosing the measures that correlate with cognitive performance), dynamicupdating, automatic and proper handling of inconsistency and uncertainty, and the ability to facilitate team decision making and understanding. As part of the Phase I effort, a prototype Self Team Assessment Tool (STAT) for assessing individual and teamcognitive readiness will be developed and tested. In conducting the R&D program, Barron Associates, Inc., a company with a strong track record in the proposed decisional methodology, will collaborate with Dr. Stephanie Guerlain of the University ofVirginia (UVA), an expert in cognitive engineering and team evaluation methodology. Testing of the Phase I prototype STAT tool will be conducted on teams of UVA Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) midshipmen as subjects.