The Effect of Cold Training and the Wearing of Gloves on Manual Performance in the Cold: A Comparison of Pure Ability and Operational Tasks
Abstract
Cold-induced manual performance decrements pose a serious problem for military cold weather operations. A series of experiments conducted at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Groton, CT has been based on the notion that the amount of decrement, and possibly the best means for reducing that decrement, depend on the specific motor abilities required to perform a given task. Based on this notion, experiments have been performed using a battery of 'pure-ability' tasks so that ultimately results could be generalized to any task. The study conducted here had the following goals: (1) to complement the previous studies in terms of the cold temperatures tested, and obtain profiles of performance of decrements and cold-injury dangers across a range of cold temperatures; (2) to assess the wearing of gloves and temperature-specific training as potential methods of reducing or eliminating cold-induced manual performance decrements; and (3) to validate and compare results previously and currently obtained using 'pure-ability' tasks with those obtained using operational tasks. A battery of five pure ability and four operational tasks were administered to six four-man groups of U.S. Marines. Three groups practiced the tasks at room temperature on the first of three training days and at -10 C on the other two training days, while the other three groups practiced at room temperature on all three days.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 14, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA163893
Entities
People
- William H. Rogers
Organizations
- Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory