The Construction And Verification Of Risk Task In Military Situation

Objective:Technological advancements and military development have introduced substantial risk and uncertainty for military personnel.In recent years,the cognitive and decision-making abilities of individuals,crucial for battlefield success,have garnered attention from scholars and the general public.While existing studies show that both internal and external factors influence individual risk-taking,research on risk decision-making in military situations remains scarce.Consequently,it is unclear how military contexts affect individual risk decision-making and the varying impacts on different groups.To address this gap,this study aims to explore the impact of military situations on individual risk decision-making.We construct a behavioral task that scientifically and effectively assesses individual risk decision-making characteristics within virtual reality-simulated military contexts.Additionally,we verify the reliability and validity of these virtual reality scenarios.Methods:Study 1 developed a military situational risk task by conducting a literature search analysis,group discussions,and expert consultation.The task was based on the classical risk decision paradigm,incorporating a military context.Study 2 assessed the task’s reliability by examining the internal consistency of behavioral indicators,correlations with retested behavioral indicators after two weeks,and links to bravery and risk-taking behaviors using Pearson correlation analysis.Multiple linear regression tested the predictive validity of the task for bravery and risk-taking behavior,while a 2(military vs.non-military)×2(military situational risk task vs.balloon analogue risk task)mixed-measures ANOVA verified its differentiation from the classical task.In Study 3,the"3I"characteristics of the VR scenario were validated using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests.Behavioral and physiological indicator differences between the PC and VR versions of the military situational risk task were compared through descriptive statistics,paired sample t-tests,and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test.Results:1.The pre-survey aimed to select the optimal adaptation paradigm from three literature analysis results:the Iowa Gambling Task,the Simulated Balloon Risk Task,and the Dice Task.Five experts combined the selected comprehensive optimal result(Simulated Balloon Risk Task)with a military context to create an expert consultation draft.Thirteen experts participated in two rounds of consultation using the Delphi method.The first round of expert consultation had a 92.86%effective return rate,an expert authority coefficient of 0.82,with scores of 8.75±0.83 for scientificity,8.50±0.65 for operability,and 8.00±1.22 for reasonableness of the VR scene script.The coefficients of variation were 0.095,0.076,and0.153,respectively.The second round had a 100%effective return rate,an expert authority coefficient of 0.83,and scores of 9.00±0.57 for scientificity,8.67±0.62 for operability,and8.83±0.55 for reasonableness of the VR scene script.The coefficients of variation were0.064,0.072,and 0.063,respectively.A total of seven experts provided suggestions on the text during the two rounds of consultation.2.The 30 trials of individuals’average number of forward steps in the military situational risk task were divided into early,middle,and late blocks for correlation analysis to test stability within the experiment.Early and middle blocks were significantly correlated(r=0.685,P<0.01),as were middle and late blocks(r=0.770,P<0.01)and early and late blocks(r=0.545,P<0.01).Retest reliability tests revealed that individuals’mean number of forward steps(r=0.582,P<0.01),number of failures(r=0.615,P<0.01),and adjusted number of forward steps(r=0.564,P<0.01)were significantly correlated with retesting behavioral indicators two weeks later.External validity tests showed that the average number of forward steps in the military situational risk task was significantly and positively correlated with two indicators of bravery(r=0.271,P<0.05)and special domain risk-taking behavior(r=0.322,P<0.05),while the adjusted number of forward steps had significant positive correlations with bravery(r=0.281,P<0.05)and special domain risk-taking behavior(r=0.338,P<0.01).Predictive validity results indicated that including the adjusted number of forward steps increased the explanatory validity of the regression model for risk-taking behavior(ΔR~2=5.8%)and for bravery(ΔR~2=4.3%).The interaction effect between task type and group category was significant(F(1,58)=5.715,P=0.02,η~2=0.09).Simple main effect analysis demonstrated a significant difference in group category,with military groups being more risk-taking than non-military groups in the military situational risk task.However,there was no significant difference in risk-taking between the two types of groups in the balloon analogue risk task.3.All nine dimensions of the virtual reality system evaluation scale were above the theoretical median of 4(all P<0.001).There were no significant differences in behavioral indicators for the military situational risk task between the PC-presented and VR-presented versions.However,the mean heart rate(t=-2.381,P<0.05),maximum skin conductance level(z=-3.627,P<0.001),mean skin conductance level(z=-3.201,P=0.001),maximum galvanic skin response amplitude(z=-2.327,P=0.02),mean event-related amplitude(z=-3.681,P<0.001),and maximum event-related amplitude(z=-3.627,P<0.001)in the PC version were significantly lower than those in the VR version.Conclusions:In this study,a military situational risk task was scientifically and effectively constructed through literature searches,group discussions,and expert consultations.Evaluation of the task’s validity and reliability revealed good internal consistency,retest reliability,external validity,and predictive validity coefficients,all meeting statistical test criteria.The task could also be effectively distinguished from the classical balloon analogue risk task in terms of measurement content.Furthermore,the VR-presented military situational risk task exhibited higher imagination,immersion,and interaction levels than the PC version.The VR presentation effectively induced greater emotional arousal and fluctuation compared to the PC presentation,demonstrating that the virtual reality-based military situational risk task possesses superior 3I characteristics and ecological validity.In summary,this study initially constructs and validates a military situational risk decision-making paradigm with strong reliability and high ecological validity using virtual reality technology.