A prueba de fuego: perfil cognitivo, afectivo y de personalidad del cuerpo de bomberos de Barcelona

This article analyzes the psychological profile of a sample (N=23) of the Barcelona Fire Department. Study 1 analyses the cognitive (selective attention and visuospatial working memory), affective (arousal, valence, and dominance), and personality (empathy, sensation seeking and stress coping) profile, and their correlations. Study 2, a pre-post pilot, explores whether participating in a real suicide attempt service affects the aforementioned cognitive and affective variables. The results suggest: (1) the sample presents accurate cognitive abilities, an affective tone of confidence, positive and active, and a tendency to use coping strategies to approach problems; (2) there are significant correlations between cognitive, personality, and affective variables, that indicate different ways of coping with stress; (3) the pre-post study does not suggest significant differences in the cognitive and affective variables, but the resulting practical relevance is discussed.