The Effects of Simulated Armed Confrontations on Executive and Cardiovascular Functioning

Background: Armed confrontations are part of the job of many police officers. Yet, little is known about the cognitive effects of facing such a threat.

Aim: In order to learn more about armed confrontations in the line of duty, we look at how simulated armed confrontation affects cognitive functioning.

Methods: Seventy-two violence-experienced participants took part in the experiment. A between-subject design was employed. The experimental group (n= 41) was exposed to a simulated armed confrontation that required the establishment of dominance over an aggressor. The control group (n= 32) was exposed to a pre-defined exercise for five minutes. As a measure for executive and non-executive functioning, phonemic fluency was measured before and after the treatment, along with physiological measures.

Results: Results for both treatments revealed an increase in executive cognitive functioning, whilst non-executive functioning was not affected. Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased from pre- to post-testing.

Discussion and Conclusion: The current results are inconsistent with previous research looking at aggression and violent behavior in the normal population, where executive dysfunction is considered an etiological factor. They indicate that executive cognitive functioning is enhanced in simulated armed confrontations, suggesting that there is an adaptive human defensive response due to increased cardiovascular functioning.