Operational Psychology Research Group

About the group

The Operational Research Group investigates human factors such as stress resilience and hardiness, crisis leadership, team interaction and performance, situational awareness, errors, risk assessment, decision-making under time constraints and uncertainty and human behavior in dynamic environments such as high reliability organizations (e.g., maritime and offshore hydrocarbon energy industries, armed forces and police, rescue and emergency services, and forensic settings).  

We use a broad range of research approaches, including naturalistic studies of operational teams in extreme situations, behavioural simulations, experiments, field experiments, biological markers, surveys, eye-tracking and simulators, as well as randomized control trials investigating the effects of different health care interventions aiming to boost resilience and prevent development of mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorders. 

Operational psychology is relevant for all occupations and organisations where problem-solving and interaction take place in complex environments, and where errors can have potentially fatal consequences. Findings from the group’s research has been applied within the operational units and disseminated into the applied settings where it is relevant. The research has been presented in international and national peer reviewed journals, textbooks, and teachings at the university and college level, industry reports, seminars and training courses. 

The OPRG has for more than a decade been a pioneering Norwegian research group on human factors, interaction and performance in operational teams.