Military Psychology

PSY4990

Spring 2009

 

Instructors:     Dr. Steve / Dr. (Maj) Ogle

Contact info: 474-2107 or skass@uwf.edu / 857-6205 or aogle@uwf.edu

Office:          Kass: Bldg 41, room 230, office hrs: Mon, Tues, Thur 9 am - 11 am

                     Ogle: Bldg 41, room 228, office hrs: By Appointment

 

Classroom:  Bldg 11, Room 121

Prerequisites: None

Texts:          Required:  Military Psychology:  An Introduction, Simon & Schuster.

Suggested: Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications, Guilford Press

Additional Readings on Reserve

 

Purpose:      This course is intended to provide the student with a broad overview of applications of psychology in the military.  The course focuses on uses of human factors, industrial-organizational, social and clinical psychology in various military settings to promote the behavioral health of service members and families, performance of individuals and teams, and success in military operations.  We will treat the study and practice of psychology in the military as a means for gaining useful insights about human behavior.  The course is intended to provide students an orientation to areas they may pursue for greater knowledge and/or employment in military psychology settings.  This is a seminar course and as such is expected to be highly interactive and a chance for students to share what they have learned from researching individual topics. 

 

Learning Outcomes:

                     Students will become familiar with recent and historical research and applications in the area of military psychology. Upon completion of this course students will demonstrate the following abilities through written discussion questions, paper, and classroom discussions:

·        Ability to access, critique, and integrate research and literature in the area of military psychology.

·        Ability to identify and describe applications of psychology in military services and settings

·        Ability to apply the human factors, industrial-organizational, social, and clinical psychology principles to solving military problems

·        Ability to consider and debate ethical issues related to application of psychological skills to support military operations

 

Requirements: 

                     Paper:  Students will be expected to write a paper (8 to 10 pages of text with at least 10 references) typed in APA format (version 5) with headings appropriate for term papers (not research studies).  A limited number of web references are okay to use, but they do not count toward the minimum of 10. The paper may be a review of the literature in which you might take one side of a controversial issue, or perhaps use literature to show why a particular theory may not be true.  An additional approach would be to research and describe in depth a local military psychology setting/service, demonstrating knowledge of applicable research.  The paper will be on any topic of your choice covered during the course or by permission. Grading will be mostly on content, but points will be deducted for poor APA style and grammar (see grading rubric). As a free service for the students, the UWF Writing Lab is available to help with your writing style.

 

                     Class Participation:  Each student is expected to bring in one article related to each topic and be prepared to discuss it in class.  The article may come from any reputable source and does not have to be an academic or research-oriented paper. For example, on-line news sources and government websites, are permitted. In addition, students will be expected to have read and taken notes on the assigned readings prior to coming to class and actively participate in the discussion. Be prepared to answer the discussion questions which may be posted for each week.  Seminar-style classes do not work well without complete cooperation of the students.  When students cooperate, the class is stimulating, fun, and rewarding, but when they do not it limits the learning potential and becomes tedious to both students and professor.  This class will be what you make of it.  

 

                     Exams: Students will take 3 in-class exams (format TBD).  Absolutely NO makeup exams will be given without prior arrangement!!

 

Grading:      Each test is worth 20% of the grade (60% total), the paper is worth 25%, and participation is worth 15%.

 

Grading Scale: 

A: 93 or above

A-: 90 - 92

B+: 88 - 89

B: 83 - 87

B-: 80 - 82

C+: 78 - 79

C: 73 - 77

C-: 70 - 72

D: 60 - 69

F: < 60

 

Rules:          Students are expected to adhere to the University's Rules of Academic Conduct (see student handbook: http://www.uwf.edu/uwfmain/stuHandbk/ ).

 

Disclaimer:  Information and opinions expressed by Maj Ogle and other military/government employees providing lectures are not intended/should not be taken as representing the policies and views of the Department of Defense, its component services, or the US government.

 

Assistance: If you have a need for any in-class accommodations, or special test-taking arrangements because of physical and/or perceptual limitations, please contact the instructor or the Psychology Department secretary before class begins or as soon as possible.

 

Tentative Schedule

 

Date

Topic

Cronin

Chapter 

Lecturer

 Suggested Readings

E-Reserve

Jan 7

Introduction to class

 

Kass/Ogle

 

Jan 14

Overview of Military Psychology-history, applications, careers

1

Kass/Ogle

 

Jan 21

Research

2

Kass

Jan 28

Assessment, Selection, and Classification

3

Kass

Guest:  Dr. Dieter Gerber

  • Picano, J. J., Williams, T. J., & Roland, R. R. (2006). Assessment and selection of high-risk operational personnel. Military psychology: Clinical and operational applications, 17, 353-370.

Feb 4

Leadership

4

Kass
  • Boies, K. & Howell, J. M. (2006). Leader member exchange in teams: An examination of the interaction between relationship differentiation and mean LMX in explaining team-level outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 246-257.

Feb 11

Teams, Group Dynamics

5

Kass
  • Cooke, N. J., Gorman, J. C., Pedersen, H., & Bell, B. (2007). Distributed mission environments: Effects of geographic distribution on team cognition process and performance. Toward a science of distributed learning, 7, 147-167.

  •  Gurtner, A., Tschan, F., Semmer, N. K., & Nagle, C. (2007). Getting groups to develop good strategies. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102, 127-142.

  • Caldwell, B. S., (2005). Multiteam dynamics and distributed expertise in mission operations. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 76, 145-153.

Feb 18

Exam #1

Behavioral Health Services Overview

 

Ogle

 

Feb 25

Combat and Operational Stress-Prevention, In Theater COSC, Reintegration

10

Ogle

 

Guest: Col Greene

  • Campise, R.L., Geller, S.K., & Campise, M.E. (2006).  Combat Stress, Military Psychology, 215-240.
  • Budd, F.C. & Kennedy, C.H., (2006). Introduction to Clinical Military Psychology.  Military Psychology, 21-34.
  •  Budd, F. C. & Harvey, S. (2006). Military Fitness for Duty Evaluations. Military Psychology, 35-60.

Mar 4

Substance Abuse and Family Violence Prevention and Treatment Programs

11

Ogle

Guest: Capt Allison

  • Gibbs, D. A., Martin, S. L., Johnson, R. E., Rentz, E. D., Clinton-Sherrod, M., & Hardison, J. (2008). Child maltreatment and substance abuse among US army soldiers. Child Maltreatment, 13, 259-268.
  • Martin, S. L., Gibbs, D. A., Johnson, R. E., Rentz, E. D., Clinton-Sherrod, M., & Hardison, J. (2007). Spouse abuse and child abuse by military soldiers. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 587-595.

Mar 11

Spring Break

 

 

 

Mar 18

Post-deployment mental health care

 

Guest: Dr. David Dean

  • Bowling, U. B. & Sherman, M. D. (2008). Welcoming them home: Supporting service members and their families in navigating the tasks of reintegration. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39, 451-458.
  • Taft, C. T., Schumm, J. A., Panuzio, J., & Proctor, S. P. (2008). An examination of family adjustment among operation desert storm veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 648-656.
  • Sammons, M. T. (2008). Psychological services for returning veterans and their families: Evolving conceptualizations of the sequelae of war-zone experiences.  Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 64, 921-927.

Mar 25

Exam #2

Situation Awareness

 

 

 

Kass
  • Endsley, M. R., (2006). Expertise and situation awareness.  The Cambridge  Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, 36, 633-651.
  • Indlekofer, U. R. & Carrick, K. (2005). Improvements in situational awareness for military fast jet pilots: Organizational and industrial framework. Human Factors and Aerospace Safety, 5, 257-265.

Apr 1

History of the Psychology of Warfare

 

Guest Lecturer

 
Apr 8 Performance  

Guest: Dr. Robert Hoffman

Guest: Maj Stephen Duckworth

  • Knapp, D. J., (2006). The U.S. joint-service job performance measurement project: An enduring legacy in performance measurement. Performance measurement: Current perspectives and future challenges, 5, 113-140.

Apr 15

Human Factors

Paper Due

6

Kass
Apr 22 Operational Applications  
Ogle
  • Stephenson, J.A. & Staal, M.A. (2007). An ethical decision-making model for operational psychology. Ethics & Behavior, 17, 61-82 .

Apr 29

Final Exam

 

Note:  Schedule is subject to change at instructor's discretion.  Topics may be substituted with instructor's permission.