Cognitive Readiness at the Tactical Level: A Review of Measures

Abstract

The emerging concept of military Cognitive Readiness (CR) is focused on the research and assessment of an individual’s potential for performance in the cognitively demanding area of military operations. In this paper, measures of CR for use in the tactical environment are reviewed. To frame this review, the paper begins with a discussion of the factors important to cognitive performance in military operations. Recommendations for future work towards the development of valid and practical CR measures for use in the tactical environment are also provided.

How High is High? A Meta-Analysis of NASA-TLX Global Workload Scores

“…The vigilance paradigm is a low demand task in which people are asked to sustain attention and respond to a rare critical signal. Of these two low demand situations, only complacency is associated with low workload (Grier, 2011). Vigilance is actually associated with high workload (Grier et al, 2003).…”

“…Performance also degrades when there are not sufficient demands, but this is not associated with workload. A low demand situation leads to complacency or the vigilance paradigm, both of which result in performance degradation (Grier, 2011;Grier et al, 2003). Complacency is a "selfsatisfaction, which may result in non-vigilance based on an unjustified assumption of satisfactory system state" (Billings, Lauber, Funkhouser, Lyman, and Huff, 1976).…”

A Review of Individual Operational Cognitive Readiness: Theory Development and Future Directions

“…Originally, CR was discussed as a holistic concept, typically referring to the measurement of a mental state that would assist in predicting future performance. However, as research continued, the concept was deconstructed into three interrelated subconstructs: strategic cognitive readiness (SCR), operational cognitive readiness (OCR), and tactical cognitive readiness (TCR; Grier, 2011). These were differentiated based on the timeline of the military operation, as guided by the DoD’s levels of war (Grier, 2012; Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2002, 2010).…”

“…SCR is defined as “an individual’s potential to perform assigned planning and organizational duties in the complex and unpredictable environment of modern military operations” (Grier, 2011, p. 404). It refers to the potential of military personnel to reach an optimal level of CR for a mission and is considered during the recruitment phase (Grier, 2011).…”

“…Finally, TCR is defined as “a state of mental acuity for ensuring an acceptable level of performance during assigned missions” (Grier, 2011, p. 404) and refers to the CR of military personnel during a mission.…”