Determination of Main Naval Officer Specialty Groups in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Based on Psychophysiologic Characteristics

Background: The modernization of the Naval Forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the growing complexity of their technological infrastructure have led to increased specialization of roles and professional competencies among naval personnel. This process is accompanied by progressively differentiated requirements for the development of specific psychophysiologic and personality-based professionally important qualities essential for the effective execution of duties and combat missions. Assessing and considering the level of development of these specialized psychophysiologic and personality traits during the stage of professional selection supports the rational assignment of military personnel and the optimization of training across key naval specialties. In turn, this contributes to improved efficiency and reliability in the performance of professional duties by naval specialists. AIM: to identify the psychophysiologic and personality-based professionally important qualities required for successful mastery of the main groups of naval specialties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved psychologic and psychophysiologic assessments of naval personnel from various specialties within the Naval Forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. A set of methods was used to evaluate neurodynamic and psychomotor properties, cognitive functions (attention, memory, and thinking), as well as motivational and personality traits. In addition, expert evaluations of the trainees’ academic and military-professional performance across different specialties were conducted. The results were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation coefficients r and the Kruskal–Wallis analysis of variance. In all cases, the measure of statistical significance for the results of the calculations was a significance level not exceeding 0.05 (p ≤0.05). RESULTS: The study identified specific professionally important qualities required for the main groups of naval specialties. CONCLUSION: The study revealed professionally important psychophysiologic characteristics that support more effective performance within selected naval specialty profiles: organizational (command), operational, and engineering-technical. This pilot study demonstrated statistically significant differences among specialty groups in terms of psychologic and psychophysiologic professionally important qualities. The most pronounced difference between personnel in the organizational, engineering-technical, and operational profiles compared with support personnel was observed on the Aspiration for Specialization scale of the Military-Professional Motivation Questionnaire, which reflects the depth and stability of motivation to master a specific military specialty. The most optimal psychophysiologic parameters and functional state indicators were found among personnel in the engineering-technical profile.