EFFECT OF SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY ON PERFORMANCE TESTING IN AN OPERATIONAL SETTING

RESEARCH IS PROPOSED WHICH WILL TEST THE EFFECT OF SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY LEVELS ON PERFORMANCE ON AN INFANTRY TASK. THE RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE FIELD AND WILL USE HOSTAGE, ATTACK, OR DEFENSE SCENARIOS. SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY WILL BE CONTROLLED THROUGH THE USE OF A FILTERING CIRCUIT WHICH ALLOWS FINE-TUNING OF INTELLIGIBILITY FOR EACH SOLDIER. THE MODIFIED RHYMING TEST WILL BE USED TO CALIBRATE INTELLIGIBILITY LEVELS. THE DEPENDENT MEASURES WILL BE SCENARIO TASK PERFORMANCE AND SUBJECTIVE MENTAL WORKLOAD. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A MODEL WHICH PREDICTS HOW INTELLIGIBILITY AFFECTS PERFORMANCE AS A FUNCTION OF TASK REQUIREMENTS. PHASE I WILL DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF FIELD TESTING THIS CONCEPT AND PROVIDE AN ELEMENTARY MODEL TO PREDICT THIS PERFORMANCE.