PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF DECISION-MAKING BY CRISIS CONTROL CENTRE SPECIALISTS WHEN RESPONSE TO INCIDENTS IN THE WATERS OF SAINT-PETERSBURG

This article examines the psychological aspects of decision-making by Crisis Management Center specialists responding to incidents in the waters of Saint-Petersburg. An analysis of 50 incidents related to search and rescue operations on the city's waters was conducted. The work of the on-duty team during the incident response was also observed. The results revealed that the key factors affecting Crisis Management Center specialists' decision-making in the waters of Saint-Petersburg include cognitive biases (availability heuristics, anchoring effect, confirmation bias), information overload and «analysis paralysis», time pressure, and the phenomenon of «normalization of anomalies». The article also highlighted the characteristics of Saint-Petersburg's waters that influence stress levels and management decisions, namely, the urbanized environment, seasonal and weather conditions, and logistical complexity. The study concluded that the identified psychological aspects and the need to work in conditions of multitasking and information deprivation require the development of decision support systems for search and rescue operations in the waters of Saint-Petersburg and their implementation in the daily activities of specialists at the Crisis Management Center of the Main directorate of EMERCOM of Russia for Saint-Petersburg.