ORCID
- Jon Rhodes: 0000-0002-7921-8242
Abstract
Exploration environments expose individuals and teams to prolonged uncertainty, physical risk, and cognitive strain. Despite advances in expedition technology and logistics, psychological preparation for extreme environments remains comparatively underdeveloped. This presentation introduces the concept of exploration psychology as an applied framework for preparing individuals and teams to function effectively in high-risk and unpredictable expedition contexts. Drawing on research from performance psychology, stress physiology, and cognitive science, the talk outlines how psychological mechanisms underlying fear, attention, and decision-making influence behaviour in extreme environments. Fear responses involve rapid amygdala activation followed by potential top-down regulation through prefrontal cognitive appraisal, shaping behavioural responses such as avoidance, panic, or task-focused action. The presentation discusses practical training methods that translate these mechanisms into expedition preparation, including stress simulation, imagery-based cognitive reframing, graduated exposure training, heart-rate variability biofeedback, and purpose-driven motivational framing. Beyond individual regulation, the talk also considers team dynamics and role-based functioning through a proposed expedition archetype framework that highlights complementary psychological strengths such as navigation, decision-making, emotional stabilisation, and innovation. Integrating these perspectives suggests that psychological preparation can enhance adaptability, decision agility, emotional regulation, and group cohesion in extreme environments. The aim is to demonstrate how structured psychological training can move expedition preparation beyond physical and technical readiness toward a more integrated model of human performance in exploration settings. Implications for expedition leadership, team selection, and training design are discussed.
Publication Date
2025-10-31
Event
Managing Fear: Expedition Psychology: Royal Geographical Society: Expedition Medicine
Deposit Date
2026-03-09
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Rhodes, J. (2025) 'Exploration Psychology: Preparing explorers more effectively for expeditions.', Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/psy-research/1231
