Stress, Mindsets, and Success in Navy SEALs Special Warfare Training.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective cohort follow-up study without randomization
PubMed 32010023 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02962
What was done
A prospective cohort of 174 Navy SEAL candidates was followed during Special Warfare Training to test whether mindsets about stress (stress-is-enhancing vs. stress-is-debilitating), willpower, and failure predicted training outcomes. Measured endpoints included persistence through training, obstacle course times, and evaluations from peers and instructors. Multiverse analyses were performed to assess robustness across analytical choices.
What was found
Candidates with stress-is-enhancing mindsets had greater persistence through training, faster obstacle course times, and fewer negative evaluations from peers and instructors. Conversely, failure-is-enhancing mindsets predicted poorer success, and non-limited willpower mindsets predicted negative evaluations from others. The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, test statistics, or confidence intervals.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that viewing stress as enhancing relates to better performance and retention in high-stress operational environments, while highlighting that not all positive mindsets generalize favorably under extreme pressure.
Limits
No numerical estimates or effect sizes are provided in the abstract. The study is observational, precluding causal inference. The highly selected, homogenous population of military special operations candidates limits generalizability to broader occupational or everyday settings.
Cited by
- supports Research from Alia Crum's laboratory demonstrates that stress can be adaptive and can improve performance and outcomes.