Human Behavior in Military Contexts (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 7-19
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From page 7... ...
Humans embedded in the complex military system must possess the knowledge, skills, abilities, aptitudes, and temperament to perform their roles effectively in a reliable and predictable manner, and effective military management requires understanding of how these qualities can be best provided and assessed. Furthermore, the technical and social contexts in which people operate can either facilitate or inhibit system effectiveness.
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From page 8... ...
Organizational Functioning Organizational tasks call for teams that can provide multiple perspectives and collective resources. Coordination of teams requires communication structures and practices, distribution and integration of task-relevant information, information analysis and decision making, and harnessing collective effort.
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From page 9... ...
Once military personnel are embedded in such situations, they are subjected to a variety of stresses that differ in important ways from the stressors of engagement encountered by troops serving in conventional, U.S.-only, units. This includes lack of social support, the continuing stress of having to deal with a foreign language and culture on a 24/7 basis, and the possible lack of contact with the usual military command and support structure.
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From page 10... ...
government funding data for basic research frequently includes amounts for applied research as well. This is particularly true for basic behavioral and social science research funded by the military because it is constrained to fund research likely to be close to its own interests, and the closer research comes to being applied, the more obvious its military relevance.
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From page 11... ...
Through a workshop and other information gather ing activities, the study committee would identify research opportunities that draw on the most recent developments in the behavioral and social sciences -- including behavioral, cognitive, and social neurosciences -- that cross multiple levels of analysis, and that are poised to contribute quickly and significantly to the military's basic and applied research needs. THE COMMITTEE'S APPROACH To meet ARI's charge, the committee first and foremost decided that the research areas selected must be relevant to current military interests.
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From page 12... ...
Recognizing the tension between the desire for practical payoffs from research in the near future and the creation of the groundwork for basic research with long-term potential, the committee's response is to recommend research that responds to near-term needs without neglecting longer term opportunities. The committee also recognized that, like all organizations, military agencies engaged in funding behavioral and social science research operate under a variety of constraints.
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From page 13... ...
For example, at this time, ARI is funding basic research on leadership, training, and personnel assessment, some of it in traditional areas of psychological research, and also in social science areas, such as anthropology and sociology. In 2006, ARI released a broad agency announcement calling for research in the broad area of network science, with a focus on cognitive and social domains; on training and learning; leadership; human resource practices; social systems; and the role of affect (emotion)
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From page 14... ...
14 TABLE 1-2 Research Topics and Areas of Military Concern Social Organizational Leadership Training Personnel Interactions Structures Intercultural Competence x x x x x Teams in Complex Environments x x x x x Technology and Training x x x x x Nonverbal Behavior x x x x x Emotion x x x x x Neurophysiology x x x x
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From page 15... ...
Intercultural Competence The ability to navigate and adapt to different cultures is known as intercultural competence or cultural intelligence. The latter term includes cognitive (knowledge of language, customs, beliefs)
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From page 16... ...
Basic behavioral research on technology and training will enable military trainers to take advantage of an evidencebased approach to designing training for individuals and for teams. Nonverbal Communication Research has rigorously validated that people rapidly, even if unconsciously and automatically, perceive and become influenced by the nonverbal signals of those around them.
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From page 17... ...
Such research is likely to increase the effectiveness of military procedures for the selection, training, and performance evaluation of personnel for specific leadership and operational duties in ways not subject to the biases of subjective evaluations. RECOMMENDED RESEARCH FUNDING It is clear to the committee that behavioral and social science research critical to the military remains insufficiently funded.
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From page 18... ...
CONCLUSION This report and the papers clearly demonstrate that there are many bodies of stimulating, ongoing research in the behavioral and social sciences that can enrich the military's ability to recruit, train, and enhance the performance of its personnel, both organizationally and in its many roles in other cultures. Such research may sometimes be carried out in established scientific fields; sometimes it is the product of older disciplines merging ideas and techniques to generate new areas of research.
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From page 19... ...
Recently, Mario Mancuso, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism, spoke about intelligence gathering and cultural skills: "Being able to develop and maintain and nurture relationships with groups in other societies .
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