Individual Differences in Diving: Intelligence,Personality, and Underwater Adaptation |
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| Authors: | Joaquín Colodro-Plaza Enrique J. Garcés de los Fayos-Ruiz Juan J. López-García Lucía Colodro-Conde |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Delegation of Defense in the Region of Murcia, Murcia, Spain, and Department of Psychology, Regional Campus of International Excellence Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murciajoaquin.c.p@um.es;3. Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, Regional Campus of International Excellence Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia;4. Department of Basic Psychology and Methodology, Regional Campus of International Excellence Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia;5. Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, Regional Campus of International Excellence Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Diving is an activity that is carried out in an extreme environment with extraordinary psychophysical demands. It requires the divers to undergo an adaptive process in order to survive, to be able to take advantage of their capabilities, and to achieve an efficient performance. In this ex post facto study, data from a sample of military personnel participating in scuba diving courses (N = 649) were analyzed. Our aim was to verify the role of individual differences in the adaptation to an extreme and hostile environment. The results indicate the existence of psychological variables that differentiate between divers and the general population, those who pass or fail the diving course, and between groups of divers who obtain differential levels of performance in underwater tasks. These findings support that dispositional characteristics have utility for the identification of suitable personnel for professional diving. |
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| Keywords: | underwater adaptation extreme environments military diving Spain dispositional traits |
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