Research Fields Of Military Psychology And Its Trends

The major content of researching achievement can be reflected by the frequency of key words, the change of which can reflect the tendency and characteristic of a research field. Key words are extracted from the paper or the report to indicate the information of the whole articles. The word frequency analysis method of key words is a method to analyze literatures quantitatively. In this study, in order to explore the major field and the developmental tendency of military psychology, literatures which are collected from the conference of the International Military Testing Association from 1980 to 2009 are analyzed with the word frequency analysis method of key words. Here are the main conclusions of this study:1. Military Psychology is an applied science with broad and complex fields. According to this research, military psychological research can be divided into seven areas, which are military personnel training, job analysis of military occupational, psychology selection of military personnel, military leadership and organizational behavior, measurement theory and technology, military human factors, and military clinical psychology.2. Military personnel training, job analysis of military occupational, measurement theory and technology, are important issues of military psychology, but the proportions of these fields are decreasing. The number of military human factors researches is reduced, but the proportion remains stable. Increasing attention is paid to psychological selection of military personnel, military leadership and organizational behavior, military clinical psychology.3. Computer-based training, intelligent tutoring system, simulation training, the effect factors of training are important issues of military personnel training. The methods of job analysis and comprehensive occupational data analysis programs are the focuses of job analysis. Pilots, military officers, air traffic controllers, the soldiers with special tasks are the main targets of selection. Leadership, morale, job satisfaction, turnover, organizational climate, and organizational citizenship behavior are important issues of military leadership and organizational behavior. The reliability and validity of scales, item development, validity generalization, validity pollution, 360-Degree Feedback System, Situational Judgment Tests, Item Response Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing are the important research of measurement theory and technology. Cultural ergonomics, artificial intelligence, and human-machine system are the main problems of military human factors. Combat Stress Reaction, health risk behavior, time-related stresses, alcohol and drug abuse, and psychological resilience are important research questions of military clinical psychology.4. Practical values that are to maintain and improve combat are emphasized in military psychology. The research achievements of computer science, device development, simulation, automation, artificial intelligence, organizational construction, and decision-making are very helpful to military psychology. Computer and network information technology will play an important boost.