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. 2024 Sep 9:15:1449200.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1449200. eCollection 2024.

Trait-level predictors of human performance outcomes in personnel engaged in stressful laboratory and field tasks

Tad T Brunyé  1   2 , Sara Anne Goring  2 , Julie A Cantelon  1   2 , Marianna D Eddy  1   2 , Seth Elkin-Frankston  1   2 , Wade R Elmore  1 , Grace E Giles  1   2 , Clifford L Hancock  1 , Shoaib Bin Masud  2   3 , James McIntyre  2 , Kari L McKenzie  1 , K Blake Mitchell  1 , Meghan P O'Donovan  1 , Kenneth Racicot  1 , John W Ramsay  1
Affiliations

Trait-level predictors of human performance outcomes in personnel engaged in stressful laboratory and field tasks

Tad T Brunyé et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Personnel performance under stress hinges on various factors, including individual traits, training, context, mental and physiological states, and task demands. This study explored the link between the traits of military personnel and their performance outcomes in five domains: move, shoot, communicate, navigate, and sustain.

Methods: A total of 387 U.S. Army soldiers participated in this study, undergoing trait assessments covering physical, cognitive, social-emotional, demographic/lifestyle, and health domains. Performance was measured through lab and field events assessing a broad range of individual and team-level skills under conditions demanding resilience to acute cognitive and physical stress exposure. Analysis used feature selection and elastic net regression.

Results: Analyses revealed complex associations between traits and performance, with physical, cognitive, health-related, social-emotional, and lifestyle traits playing roles in guiding and constraining performance. Measures of resilience, emotion regulation, grit, and mindfulness were identified as relevant predictors of several performance-related outcomes.

Discussion: Results carry implications for the selection, training, and operational effectiveness of personnel in high-stakes occupations including military and first response. Further research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying these associations and inform targeted interventions to boost personnel effectiveness.

Keywords: decision making; emotion; machine learning; memory; military perception; performance; prediction; traits.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

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