Refining Selection for Elite Troops by Predicting Military Training Outcome.
Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance
|August 19, 2017
Summary
Physiological reactivity, specifically heart rate (HR), tension, and fatigue, can predict success in demanding elite paratrooper training. Lower initial HR reactivity in trainees may indicate a higher risk of dropping out from the course.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Military Psychology
- Human Performance Optimization
Background:
- Paratrooper training is highly selective, with significant dropout rates despite current criteria.
- Investigating physiological, neuropsychological, and subjective factors may reveal predictive markers for training success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify predictive indices for paratrooper training completion.
- To compare physiological, neuropsychological, and subjective data between completers and drop-outs.
Main Methods:
- 24 soldiers were assessed at three time points during a 12-week training course.
- Physiological (ACTH, cortisol, HR), neuropsychological (Stroop, Flanker, Go NoGo, Task Switch), and subjective (POMS) data were collected.
- The Training OPtimalisation test (TOPtest) measured parameter reactivity (delta scores) during maximal exercise events.
Main Results:
- Drop-outs exhibited significantly lower heart rate (HR) reactivity at the start of training (t0).
- Differences in tension and fatigue delta scores were significant between completers and drop-outs at t0.
- Completers showed reduced physiological reactivity by the end of training (t2), becoming comparable to drop-outs' initial reactivity.
Conclusions:
- Heart rate (HR) reactivity, along with tension and fatigue parameters, demonstrates predictive value for identifying successful paratrooper candidates.
- These physiological and subjective reactivity measures can refine selection processes for elite military training.
More Related Videos
07:01Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
5.3K
06:55Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
15.4K
Related Concept Videos
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
37.6K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
37.6K
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
7.2K
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
7.2K