Extending the Stress–Decision-Making Nexus: Lessons from High-Consequence Industrial Environments

Background: The relationship between occupational stress and impaired decision-making is well established in aviation psychology but has received limited systematic examination in high-consequence industrial control environments including nuclear power generation, DOE facilities, DOD installations, and petrochemical operations. Methods: This review synthesizes existing literature on neurobiological mechanisms of stress-induced cognitive impairment, cognitive load theory, and practitioner observations from 35 years of direct field experience across DOE, DOD, nuclear utility, and petrochemical environments. Results: Three primary degradation pathways are identified: attentional narrowing, decision compression, and behavioral regression. Neurobiological suppression of prefrontal cortex function through cortisol and catecholamine release provides a mechanistic explanation for performance failures documented across multiple high-consequence industrial incidents. Conclusion: Evidence-based interventions including alarm rationalization, cognitive task analysis-informed procedure design, and structured shift turnover protocols are directly transferable from aviation to industrial settings. The occupational health and psychology communities should collaborate to develop integrated human performance standards across all high-consequence sectors.