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In a prepublication review, John Keegan expressed his hope that this handbook would be a standard reference for the years ahead. Two years after its release, that expectation has come true. Without a doubt, the volume represents the standard for information on contemporary military psychology's goals and recommendations, and the mainstream approach for dealing with its subject will be shaped by the issues it identifies. Because of the demand that military planners have for helpful models to describe and interpret the military and to producing effective and efficient mission performance, it can be predicted that there will be increased interest in applying the models presented here.
Seven sections believed to "resemble the relevant fields of psychology" are divided into a total of 39 individual chapters "to account for the diversity within each section." Each section opens with an editorial, followed by a brief review "of past, present and future directions." The chapter authors come form seven different countries: Australia, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The following addresses and briefly summarizes the seven major sections, then concludes with an assessment and some evaluative remarks.
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"Selection, Classification and Placement in Military Services" discusses various techniques for solving the old organizational problem of placing the right person in the right position. On the basis of personality theories, differential and (general) cognitive psychology, and decisionmaking theories for large-scale organizations, diagnostic strategies are explored, including problems of measurement and validation. Exemplary applications for the selection of military officers are discussed, and the authors specifically emphasize the selection of pilots--especially in the free world--as well as air traffic control cadets. A discussion of the essential methodological and individual dilemmas confronting the practitioner of personnel selection and classification concludes the section.
The introduction to "Human Factors and Military Performance" indicates the specialized focus of the articles in the next section: "The goal of military human factors research and applications is to improve military performance--to increase the probability and ease of combat success." Ergonomics, human factors engineering, and human factors such as leadership, morale, experience, motivation, training, and discipline in a traditional military sense, represent the general focus. The authors specifically deal with "cultural ergonomics," i.e., "cultural variables and cross-national considerations in...