Military psychology is the research, design,
and application of psychological theories
and empirical data towards understanding,
predicting, and countering behaviours in friendly
and enemy forces, or in civilian populations.
There is particular emphasis on behaviours
that may be undesirable, threatening, or potentially
dangerous to the conduct of military operations.
Military psychology utilizes multiple psychology
sub-disciplines to encourage resiliency among
military troops and counteract enemy forces
for military victories.
The stressors and mental illnesses studied
under military psychology are not specific
to the military.
However, soldiers often face unique combinations
of stressors within combat and war settings,
and may go on to experience stress-related
psychiatric disorders.
Specific examples of the issues faced by military
personnel include posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), guilt, family and partner difficulties,
and nightmares and flashbacks.
Applied military psychology is especially
focused on counselling, and treatment of stress
and fatigue of military personnel and their
families.
== Role ==
The military is a group of individuals who
are usually trained and equipped to perform
national security tasks in unique and often
chaotic and trauma-filled situations.
These situations can include the front-lines
of battle, national emergencies, allied assistance,
or the disaster response scenarios where they
are providing relief-aid for the host populations
of both friendly and enemy states.
Though many psychologists may have a general
understanding with regards to a humans response
to traumatic situations, military psychologists
are uniquely trained and experienced specialists
in applied science and practice among this
special population.
While the soldiers may be providing direct
aid to the victims of events, military psychologists
are providing specialized aid to both soldiers,
their families, and the victims of military
operations as they cope with the often "normal"
response or reaction to uncommon and abnormal
circumstances.
In addition to the specialized roles previously
mentioned, military psychologists often study
the dynamics, train people in, and consult
on hostage negotiations.
In some cases the psychologists might not
be the one directly handling the hostage situation,
but hostage negotiators find value in resolving
the hostage crisis using many of the scientific
principles that are derived from the science
of psychology.
In addition, many of the principles of the
scientific discipline of clinical psychology
have their roots in the work of the early
military psychologists of World War II.
Another common practice domain for military
psychologists is in performing fitness for
duty evaluations, especially in high risk
and high reliability occupations.
The set of unique challenges often faced by
those in the military and the professions
of arms such as: police, strategic security,
and protective services personnel, the ability
to perform reliable and accurate fitness for
duty evaluations adds value and maximizes
the human capital investment in the workplace
by optimizing retention of the talents of
active and prospective service men and women
while minimizing risk in many areas including
violence, mishap, and injury potential.
The types of fitness evaluations include both
basic entry examinations and career progression
examinations such as those conducted when
individuals are seeking promotion, higher-classification
clearance status, and specialized, hazardous,
and mission critical working conditions.
When operational commanders become concerned
about the impact of continuous, critical,
and traumatic operations on those in their
command, they often consult with a military
psychologist.
Military psychologists can assess, diagnose,
treat and recommend the duty status most suitable
for the optimal well-being of the individual,
group, and organization.
Events that affect the mental state, resilience
or psychological assets and vulnerabilities
of the warrior and the command are where military
psychologists are most equipped to meet the
unique challenges and provide expert care
and consultation to preserve the behavioural
health of the fighting force.
The fitness evaluations might lead to command
directed administrative actions or provide
the information necessary to make decisions
by a medical board or other tribunal and must
be thoroughly conducted by non-biased individuals
with the experience and training necessary
to render a professional opinion that is critical
to key decision makers.
Military psychologists must be well versed
in the art and science of psychology as specialized
applied practice professionals.
They must also be highly competent generalists
in the military profession, and be able to
understand both professions well enough to
examine human behavior in the context of military
operations.
It takes the psychologist several years beyond
the doctorate to develop the expertise necessary
to understand how to integrate psychology
with the complex needs of the military.
Another very select and infrequent use of
military psychology is in the interview of
subjects, the interrogation of prisoners,
and the vetting of those who may provide information
of operational or intelligence value that
would enhance outcomes of friendly military
operations or reduce friendly and enemy casualties.
Psychology's scientific principles applied
here allow the interviewer, agent, or interrogator
to get as much information as possible through
non-invasive means without the need to resort
to active measures or risk violating the rules
of engagement, host nation agreements, international
and military law or crossing the threshold
of the Geneva Conventions' guidelines to which
the United States and its allies subscribe,
regardless of the status of many of the modern
belligerent countries on the international
laws and United Nations agreements.
== Area of study ==
The goals and missions of current military
psychologists have been retained over the
years, varying with the focus and strength
of intensity of research put forth into each
sector.
The need for mental health care is now an
expected part of high-stress military environments.
The importance and severity of post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) has gained more credibility
than those suffering from it received in the
past, and is being highlighted in treatment
programs.
More extensive post-deployment screenings
take place now to home in on problematic recoveries
that used to be passed unnoticed and untreated.
=== Terrorism ===
Terrorism and counterterrorism, information
management, and psychological warfare are
value-added roles for the applied aspects
of military psychology that are developing.
For instance, contrary to the common myths
and stereotypes about modern terrorists, that
tend portray them as mentally disturbed individuals;
most terrorists are far from that typology
according to studies conducted by behavioural
and social scientists who have either directly
interviewed and observed terrorists or conducted
meta-analytic studies of terrorism and terrorists.
Terrorists have tended to be from among the
more well educated in their host countries.
They often have developed a well thought out,
but not very often publicized or well articulated,
rigid ideology that provides the foundation
for their strategy and tactics.
Psychologically disturbed terrorists increase
the risk of damage to the terror organization's
strategic outcomes.
As in any organization, mentally disturbed
terrorists are a liability and the leaders
of terrorist groups are well aware of the
risks that these types of persons present.
As any good organizational leader, the effective
terrorist will try to recruit the best person
for the job.
It is doubtful that modern terrorist groups
would adopt the affirmative action and other
hiring practices dictated under employment
laws in the United States or other Western
countries.
It is important to understand when and how
the label of terrorism is applied because
of its psychological impact as suggested above.
The causes, goals, methodology, and strategy
of the terrorist mindset is well suited for
psychological inquiry and the development
of the strategy and tactics used to confront
it.
Terrorism is an ideology that uses behavioral,
emotional, and group dynamics, along with
social and psychological principles to influence
populations for political purposes.
It is a form of psychological warfare.
The terrorists are experts in the use of fear,
violence, threats of violence and trauma in
order to advance the political agenda.
Terrorists seek psychological control and
use violent behavior to cause the population
to behave in ways that disrupt and destroy
the existing political processes and symbols
of political power.
They control people by using deep primal emotions
to elicit a reaction and shape behavior.
The goal of a terrorist is to use violence
to create the natural fear of death and dismemberment
and use it to change or shape political behavior,
control thought and modify speech.
Military and operational psychologists are
highly trained and experienced.
They are experts equipped with the specialized
knowledge, skills, and abilities in the art
and science of the military and psychology
professions that give them a great deal of
potential in this unique operational environment.
=== Operational psychology ===
Operational psychology is a specialty within
the field of psychology that applies behavioral
science principles through the use of consultation
to enable key decision makers to more effectively
understand, develop, target, and influence
an individual, group or organization to accomplish
tactical, operational, or strategic objectives
within the domain of national security or
national defense.
This is a relatively new sub-discipline that
has been employed largely by psychologists
and behavioral scientists in military, intelligence,
and law enforcement arenas (although other
areas of public safety employ psychologists
in this capacity as well).
While psychology has been utilized in non-health
related fields for many decades, recent years
have seen an increased focus on its national
security applications.
Examples of such applications include the
development of counterinsurgency strategy
through human profiling, interrogation and
detention support, information-psychological
operations, and the selection of personnel
for specialized military or other public safety
activities.Recently, operational psychology
has been under increased scrutiny due to allegations
of unethical conduct by some practitioners
supporting military and law enforcement interrogations.
As a result, a small group of psychologists
have raised concerns about the ethics of such
practice.
Supporters of operational psychology have
responded by providing an ethical defense
of such activity.
They argue that the American Psychological
Association's ethical code is sufficient to
support operational psychologists in a number
of activities (to include legal interrogation
by the military and other law enforcement
agencies).
=== Tactical psychology ===
Tactical psychology is "a sharp focus on what
soldiers do once they are in contact with
the enemy...on what a front-line soldier can
do to win a battle".
It combines psychology and historical analysis
(the application of statistics to military
historical data) to find out how tactics make
the enemy freeze, flee or fuss, instead of
fight.
Tactical psychology examines how techniques
like suppressive fire, combined arms or flanking
reduce the enemy's will to fight.
=== Health, organizational, and occupational
psychology ===
Military psychologists perform work in a variety
of areas, to include operating mental health
and family counseling clinics, performing
research to help select recruits for the armed
forces, determining which recruits will be
best suited for various military occupational
specialties, and performing analysis on humanitarian
and peacekeeping missions to determine procedures
that could save military and civilian lives.
Some military psychologists also work to improve
the lives of service personnel and their families.
Other military psychologists work with large
social policy programs within the military
that are designed to increase diversity and
equal opportunity.More modern programs employ
the skills and knowledge of military psychologists
to address issues such as integrating diverse
ethnic and racial groups into the military
and reducing sexual assault and discrimination.
Others assist in the employment of women in
combat positions and other positions traditionally
held by men.
Some military psychologists help to utilize
low-capability recruits and rehabilitate drug-addicted
and wounded service members.
They are in charge of drug testing and psychological
treatment for lifestyle problems, such as
alcohol and substance abuse.
In modern times, the advisement of military
psychologists are being heard and taken more
seriously into consideration for national
policy than ever before.
There are now more psychologists employed
by the U.S. Department of Defense than by
any other organization in the world.
Since the downsizing of the military in the
1990s, however, there has been a considerable
reduction in psychological research and support
in the armed forces as well.
=== Feminism ===
Women in military roles is an area of study
receiving an increasing amount of attention.
Currently women make up 10%-15% of the armed
forces.
As women tended to move to away from nursing
and helping roles, increasing attention is
given to how the brutal realities of combat
would affect the women psychologically.
Interesting research shows that, when affected,
women tend to ask for help, more so than men,
thus avoiding many of the long-term mental
suffering that male soldiers face after their
deployment has ended.
== History ==
Psychological stress and disorders have always
been a part of military life, especially during
and after wartime, but the mental health section
of military psychology has not always experienced
the awareness it does now.
Even in the present day there is much more
research and awareness needed concerning this
area.
One of the first institutions created to care
for military psychiatric patients was St.
Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Formerly known as the United States Government
Hospital for the Insane, the hospital was
founded by the United States Congress in 1855
and is currently in a state of disrepair although
operational, with revitalization plans scheduled
to begin in 2010.
=== Early work ===
In 1890 James McKeen Cattell coined the term
“mental tests”.
Cattell studied under Wundt at Leipzig in
Germany at one point during his life and strongly
advocated for psychology to be viewed as a
science on par with the physical and life
sciences.
He promoted the need for standardization of
procedures, use of norms, and advocated the
use of statistical analysis to study individual
differences.
He was unwavering in his opposition to America's
involvement in World War I.Lightner Witmer,
who also spent some time working under Wundt,
changed the scene for psychology forever from
his position at the University of Pennsylvania
when he coined the term “clinical psychology”
and outlined a program of training and study.
This model for clinical psychology is still
followed in modern times.
Eleven years later in 1907 Witmer founded
the journal The Psychological Clinic.
Also in 1907, a routine psychological screening
plan for hospitalized psychiatric patients
was developed by Shepard Ivory Franz, civilian
research psychologist at St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
Two years later, under the leadership of William
Alanson White, St. Elizabeth's Hospital became
known for research and training of psychiatrists
and military medical officers.
In 1911 Hebert Butts, a navy medical officer
stationed at St. Elizabeth's, published the
first protocol for psychological screening
of navy recruits based on Franz's work.
=== Intelligence testing in the U.S. military
===
Lewis M. Terman, a professor at Stanford University,
revised the Binet-Simon Scale in 1916, renaming
it the Stanford-Binet Revision.
This test was the beginning of the “Intelligence
Testing Movement” and was administered to
over 170,000 soldiers in the United States
Army during World War I. Yerkes published
the results of these tests in 1921 in a document
that became known as the Army Report.There
were two tests that initially made up the
intelligence tests for the military: Army
Alpha and Army Beta tests.
They were developed to evaluate vast numbers
of military recruits that were both literate
(Army Alpha tests) and illiterate (Army Beta
tests).
The Army Beta test were designed to “measure
native intellectual capacity”.
The Army Beta test also helped to test non-English
speaking service members.The standardized
intelligence and entrance tests that have
been used for each military branch in the
United States has transformed over the years.
Finally, in 1974, “the Department of Defense
decided that all Services should use Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
for both screening enlistees and assigning
them to military occupations.
Combining selection and classification testing
made the testing process more efficient.
It also enabled the Services to improve the
matching of applicants with available job
positions and allowed job guarantees for those
qualified”.
This went fully into effect in 1976.
=== Yerkes and war ===
Robert M. Yerkes, while he was president of
the American Psychological Association (APA)
in 1917, worked with Edward B. Titchener and
a group of psychologists that were known as
the “Experimentalists”.
Their work resulted in formulating a plan
for APA members to offer their professional
services to the World War I effort, even though
Yerkes was known for being opposed to America
being involved in the war at all.
It was decided that psychologists could provide
support in developing methods for selection
of recruits and treatment of war victims.
This was spurred, in part, by America's growing
interest in the work of Alfred Binet in France
on mental measurement, as well as the scientific
management movement to enhance worker productivity.In
1919, Yerkes was commissioned as a major in
the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.
In a plan proposed to the Surgeon General,
Yerkes wrote: "The Council of the American
Psychological Association is convinced that
in the present emergency American psychology
can substantially serve the Government, under
the medical corps of the Army and Navy, by
examining recruits with respect to intellectual
deficiency, psychopathic tendencies, nervous
instability, and inadequate self-control".
Also in 1919, the Army Division of Psychology
in the Medical Department was established
at the medical training camp at Fort Oglethorpe,
Georgia to train personnel to provide mental
testing of large groups.This was also the
era when the condition referred to as “shell
shock” was first seriously studied by psychologists
and standardized screening tests for pilots
were administered.
=== World War II ===
World War II ushered in an era of substantial
growth for the psychological field, centering
around four major areas: testing for individual
abilities, applied social psychology, instruction
and training, and clinical psychology.
During World War II, the Army General Classification
Test (AGCT) and the Navy General Classification
Test (NGCT) were used in place of the Army
Alpha and Army Beta tests for similar purposes.The
United States Army had no unified program
for the use of clinical psychologists until
1944, towards the end of World War II.
Before this time, no clinical psychologists
were serving in Army hospitals under the supervision
of psychiatrists.
This had to do with psychologists’ opposition
to this type of service and also to the limited
role the Army assigned to psychiatry.
At this time, the only psychiatric interview
that was being processed on the ever-increasing
numbers of military recruits lasted only three
minutes and could only manage to weed out
the severely disturbed recruits.
Under these conditions, it was impossible
to determine which seemingly normal recruits
would crack under the strain of military duties,
and the need for clinical psychologists grew.
By 1945 there were over 450 clinical psychologists
serving in the U.S. Army.Military psychology
matured well past the areas aforementioned
that concerned psychologists up until this
time, branching off into sectors that included
military leadership, the effects of environmental
factors on human performance, military intelligence,
psychological operations and warfare (such
as Special Forces like PSYOP), selection for
special duties, and the influences of personal
background, attitudes, and the work group
on soldier motivation and morals.
=== Korean War ===
Korean War was the first war in which clinical
psychologists served overseas, positioned
in hospitals as well as combat zones.
Their particular roles were vague, broad,
and fairly undefined, except for the U.S.
Air Force, which provided detailed job descriptions.
The Air Force also outlined the standardized
tests and procedures for evaluating recruits
that were to be used.
=== Vietnam War ===
In the Vietnam War, there were significant
challenges that obstructed the regular use
of psychologists to support combat troops.
The mental health teams were very small, usually
only consisting of one psychiatrist, one psychologist,
and three or four enlisted corpsmen.
Quite often, medical officers, including psychologists,
were working in severe conditions with little
or no field experience.
Despite these challenges, military psychiatry
had improved compared to previous wars, which
focused on maximizing function and minimizing
disability by preventive and therapeutic measures.
=== Global War on Terror ===
A 2014 study of soldiers who had mental health
problems after Overseas Contingency Operation
service found that a majority of them had
symptoms before they enlisted.
== See also ==
Army Alpha
Army Beta
Center for Deployment Psychology
Human subject research
Military science
MKULTRA
Morale
Psychological warfare
Unit cohesion
