The influence of stress and mood on decision making in critical situations: To what extent can we predict human performance?

In this position paper a number of hypotheses are outlined concerning the effect of three measurable human factors, namely subjective stress, arousal and mood, on human decision making performance; taking into account the amount of risk involved in the decision. The proposed domain of application involves critical situations: situations in which time-limits, uncertainty and possibly dire consequences provide an ideal context to apply the results. A tangible objective is to provide the basis for a demonstrator which can measure subjective stress, arousal and mood on the job, provide runtime feedback and positively influence the human decision making process.