Stress Effects on Soldier Performance

Abstract

The complexity of the modern battlefield requires that significant practice and training must be provided to ensure success in situations where failure is not an option. Performance within these environments occurs against a background of threat which ensures that acute and chronic forms of stress are a constant presence. However, there remain many questions to be answered regarding the impact of stress on soldier performance. The proposed panel is comprised of experts whom have generated work from disparate paradigmatic perspectives to study the issues related to stress and human performance within the laboratory as well as the field. The panel's goal is to present/discuss critical issues that confront those who wish to understand soldier performance under stress. Although we focus on the soldier, in principle, our work can apply to any individual who finds themselves faced with decision uncertainty in ambiguous situations in which flawed performance can have serious consequences.