What Does a Military Psychologist Do?

Military psychology is a discipline that studies the psychological activities of people in war and their influence on military behavior. Modern high-tech wars urgently need a large number of military commanders with strong psychological qualities in order to win the war and maintain the security and stability of the country under the conditions of military psychological warfare. ^[1]

Military Psychology refers to the application of the principles and methods of psychology in the military field. The basic problems and research processes involved in military psychologists are not much different from those involved in other branches of psychology. The only difference is that the research was carried out on military objects in a military environment. Therefore, it also contains some areas of traditional psychological research, mainly

In the First World War, in order to quickly classify a large number of recruits to meet the needs of the war, a group test model began to develop. After World War I, when Army A quiz (classified test of education level) and Army B quiz (test for illiterate and non-English recruited soldiers) were applied to the non-military field, they became a group

The relationship between training and quiz is inseparable. Because training is the main job of the combat readiness system. The military education and military training system owned by the United States is the largest in the world. In addition, in all countries in the world, the training function and role play an important role in military machinery and military construction. Therefore, military psychologists attach great importance to Assess and develop various training programs.

The content of the training is extensive and contains various special military work needs, such as the training of cooks and medical staff.

Human factors refer to the various relationships between man and machine, task, and environment. Human factors research mainly includes: promoting human operation, training efficiency, enhancing safety, improving human-machine relationship, and so on. In the military field, research in this area was initially embodied in the design of aircraft cockpits, consoles, operators, and displays. Among these many relationships, the final result of research becomes the most important part of the entire working system. To design efficient training and operating equipment systems, a continuous improvement process is required. The basic research in this process includes: physiological reactions caused by hearing and visual tension in humans, etc. At present, computer technology has been used more and more widely in this field, especially in the research of aircraft, weapons and information systems.

Compared with traditional research projects such as material selection, training, and human-computer relations, the research content of military clinical psychologists is no different from that of ordinary clinical psychologists. Their main research contents are:

In military psychology, military psychologists have always been interested in the study of leadership issues. The focus of past research has been on the selection, training, and evaluation of leaders. The current research in this area has evolved from past issues to the study of environmental and organizational factors, and organizational development (OD) technology has been used in the United States Army. China began to apply, its purpose is to strengthen organizational efficiency. This is the same requirement for the use of the technology in the non-military field. This technology is now involved in the organizational development planning of the US Army's Army, Navy and Air Force. The important purpose of organizing and developing technical participation is to improve efficiency and production, and improve life. Its effect is particularly evident in military organizations with a large number of non-military full-time staff.

Since the research on information exchange in World War II showed the important influence of military psychology on the making of military decision-making, the research on military psychology is now very important in military decision-making. Also discussed in "Public Communication" co-authored with FD Sheffield. The research results of psychologists provide general data and evidence for the formulation of war decisions in terms of information, directions, and teaching procedures. At the same time, with the development of modern science and the application of computers, the study of military decision-making has also entered a modern stage, incorporating computer information systems. It is believed that this will give a more accurate basis for military decision-making and thus a more valuable decision.