Psychomotor abilities of candidates for Polish Special Forces

Abstract

Combat tasks involving special units often put a mental and physical strain on the soldiers. During the military operation, soldiers may struggle with multiple difficulties such as extreme physical effort, sleep deprivation, weather conditions, limited access to food and stress. These circumstances require a high level of cognitive ability (including psychomotor abilities) to overcome the physiological stress response and to be able to quickly and efficiently make decisions under stressful situations, especially in combat. The aim of the study was to assess the level of the psychomotor abilities of candidates for the Polish Special Forces. The study comprised 48 candidates for the Polish Special Forces (age: $$30.06 \pm 2.87$$ 30.06 ± 2.87 ), 40 athletes (age: $$27.93 \pm 3.91$$ 27.93 ± 3.91 ) and 40 non-athletes (age: 24). The study was performed using Test2Drive software. Four computer-based tests were used to assess the following psychomotor abilities: simple reaction time, choice reaction time, hand-eye coordination and two-dimensional visuomotor coordination/spatial orientation test (SPANT). The analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences in reaction time and motor time between the study groups. The shortest reaction time in each test was observed in athletes, while the shortest motor time was observed in soldiers. All the psychomotor tests, except for the number of correct answers in SPANT, demonstrated statistically significant differences between the studied groups. It was also found that military training had a positive effect on the motor time in every psychomotor test. As regards the reaction time, it was observed that the athletes were characterised with better reaction times than the special forces candidates. The study has confirmed that military training and sports training have a positive effect on the level of psychomotor abilities, especially motor time.

The influence of selected anthropometric parameters on psychomotor abilities among professional Rugby Union players

“…In the CHORT RT, HECOR RT and SPANT RT tests, statistically significant differences were not observed. Comparing the results with those from previous studies using the computerised Test2Drive system, better reaction times in the SIRT test for the non-training group (n = 40) were also observed for tests of psychomotor abilities of Special Forces candidates (n = 48) [ 35 ], where the difference between groups was 17.6 ms and it was statistically significant. For the other tests (CHORT, HECOR and SPANT), as in the current study, the differences between groups were not statistically significant.…”

“…The differences observed in the SPANT test weren’t statistically significant. Considering the results of psychomotor abilities using Test2Drive computer tests, Paśko et al [ 35 ] noticed that in Special Forces candidates who have completed the first (fitness tests) and the second (mountain survival camp) of the selection stages, movement time was significantly shorter in all tests than in the control group represented by non-athletes. The highest differences were determined in the spatial anticipation test (SPANT, d = 166.2 ms), hand-eye coordination test (HECOR, d = 139.3 ms) and choice reaction time (CHORT, d = 134.0 ms).…”

“…Other articles on the assessment of the psychomotor abilities of athletes, it was also noted that sports training can significantly improve reaction or movement time [ 20 , 35 , 39 – 42 ]. Seidel and Ragert [ 39 ] showed that even short-term, high-intensity exercise could improve movement time.…”

“…The full description of the selected tests and the method of conducting the study have been described in previous publications [ 10 , 35 ].…”

Influence of a special training process on the psychomotor skills of cadet pilots – Pilot study

“…It is aimed at preparing the pilot for functioning and effective performance of complex and demanding tasks in the pilot working environment (Carretta, 2000;Li et al, 2005). As shown in other studies, for the conduct of an air mission by a pilot, required is appropriate level of preparation giving that allows possibility of processing a large amount of sensory information (Paśko et al, 2022). The level of this preparation is one of the determinants of the level of safety and effectiveness of the flight mission.…”