Comparing elite soldiers' perceptions of psychological and physical demands during military training

Abstract

This research examined the impact of psychological and physical demands on a group of elite soldiers (N = 9) before, during, and after training exercises involving routine and unrehearsed tasks. Based on the psychological concept of toughening, we expected soldier responses to unrehearsed demands to be less resilient than to routine training demands. As hypothesized, soldiers rated their perceptions of physical and psychological demands higher during the unrehearsed training phase of the study. It was also hypothesized that soldiers would recover more from physical demands than from psychological demands after the training exercise. Although a trend in the data marginally supported this hypothesis, a note of caution is warranted because of the small sample size. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed, with particular emphasis on the dual importance of psychological and physical training in preparing soldiers for mission demands.