Psychological, physical, and cognitive factors that influence tactical performance during a military relevant virtual reality scenario

Soldiers are challenged with interpreting information in unpredictable contexts, while maintaining high levels of job-specific performance. Virtual reality (VR) provides a controlled, immersive environment to evaluate military-relevant tasks under stress. This study determined psychological, physical, and cognitive associations with military-relevant VR task performance. Twenty-five male active-duty soldiers completed baseline psychological and cognitive assessments and then returned twice to complete VR-based Recognition Memory (RMT), Spatial Orienting (SOT), and Decision-Making (DMT) tasks under conditions of stress (active threat of torso electric shock) or no stress (torso vibration only). Baseline measures were categorized into 13 domains and standardized via z-scores. Generalized estimating equations were run with experimental condition (shock vs. vibrate) as the within-subject variable. Variables associated with correct object identification during the RMT include coping skills (e.g., acceptance), physical fitness (e.g., 2-mile run time), social intelligence, and personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness). Other coping skills (e.g., denial) decreased the odds of correct identification. Variables associated with accurate orienting on the SOT include coping skills (e.g., restraint), neurocognitive function (e.g., working memory), and prior video game experience. Additional measures of neurocognitive function (e.g., spatial orientation) reduced the odds of correct orientation. Variables associated with distinguishing targets during the DMT include coping skills (e.g., acceptance) and neurocognitive function (e.g., spatial orientation). Other coping skills (e.g., disengagement coping styles) reduced these odds. Coping skills, specifically higher acceptance, are associated with performance on military-relevant VR tasks and should be examined further to better understand how military performance could benefit from interventions targeting modifiable characteristics.