FUNCTIONAL DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS FOR SIMULATING THE STRESS ENVIRONMENT

RESEARCH FROM WORLD WAR II TO THE PRESENT INDICATES THAT THE STRESS OF COMBAT CONDITIONS IS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF TASK AND MISSION PERFORMANCE DECREMENT. YET, IT IS THE TRUE TEST OF MILITARY SYSTEMS AND PERSONNEL THAT THEY OPERATE EFFECTIVELY IN THIS STRESS ENVIRONMENT. ONE OPTIMAL INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY TO OVERCOME THIS DEGRADATION IS TO ALLOW TRAINING AND PRACTICE OF CRITICAL SKILLS UNDER THE STRESS OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS THAT PERSONNEL WILL BE FACED WITH. THIS STRATEGY CALLS FOR REALISTIC, HIGH FIDELITY SIMULATIONS, AND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN A VARIETY OF MILITARY APPLICATIONS. ALTHOUGH THE PHYSICAL FIDELITY OF A TRAINING SYSTEM CAN BE ATTAINED WITH GREAT PRECISION, THERE ARE NO DESIGN GUIDELINES AVAILABLE FOR EFFECTIVELY SIMULATING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF THE STRESS ENVIRONMENT. THEREFORE, STRESS TRAINING, A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF EFFECTIVE MILITARY TRAINING, IS DESIGNED LARGELY ON INTUITIVE AND LESS THAN OPTIMAL GROUNDS. THIS PROJECT WILL RESEARCH AND DEVELOP THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR AN EFFECTIVE STRESS SIMULATION. THIS DOCUMENT CAN BE USED IN FOLLOW-ON RESEARCH TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE TRAINING SCENARIOS AND OVERLAYS, TO DEVELOP REALISTIC RESEARCH SETTINGS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF STRESS EFFECTS, AND TO GUIDE EQUIPMENT DESIGN.