Contributions of Psychology to the Operational Readiness of the Armed Forces: An International Perspective

Philippe Goldammer is research assistant at the Military Academy at ETH Zurich. His research interests include personnel diagnostics, interpersonal influence and negotiation, and quantitative research methods. His work has been published in Leadership Quarterly, Behavior Research Methods, and Educational and Psychological Measurement. Nadine Eggimann Zanetti is Co-Head of the Department of Assessment Centers at the Military Academy at ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on positive psychology and character strengths in the Armed Forces. She is in the management board of the International Military Testing Association and serves as a specialist officer within the Swiss Armed Forces Psychological-Pedagogical Service.

• List of Figures and Boxes - List of Tables - Forewords - Foreword by Federal Councilor Martin Pfister, Head of Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport - Foreword by Lieutenant General Benedikt Roos, Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces - Foreword by Lieutenant General (ret.) Thomas Süssli, Former Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces - Philippe Goldammer and Nadine Eggimann Zanetti: Prolog to the Festschrift - Section A: Selection - Patrick Boss: Frequently Encountered Challenges When Developing a Personnel Selection Process: Lessons Learned - Philippe Goldammer: Challenges in an Evaluation Process: How to Deal with Careless Responding and to Assess a Predictor’s Relative Importance? - Etienne J. Heitz: Situational Interviews in Cadre Selection of the Swiss Armed Forces - Nadia Deflorin, Nathanael Adank, Andrea Hess, and Kerstin Lenhardt: Challenges of Psychological Fitness Assessments in the Swiss Armed Forces Recruitment Process - Anna Luca Heimann: On the Need for Quality Standards for the Predictive Validity of Assessment Centers - Anja Feierabend and Manuela Morf: Results of the Swiss HR Barometer and the practical implications for the Swiss Armed Forces: The role of Human Relations in strengthening human capital - Florentin Klein and Nina Denk: Advances and Future Trends in Computer-Assisted Testing (CAT) - Section B: Motivation - Gian-Paolo Curcio and Rudolf Steiger (†): A Journey from a Vision to its Implementation – on the Importance of «People-Oriented Leadership» in both Military and Civilian Routines - Hugo Roux and Andreas Rüdisüli: Motivation as a Factor in the Training and Education of Career Officers - Bruno Staffelbach and Martina Egli: Leadership Effectiveness from the Subordinate Perspective: Soldiers’ Evaluations of Unit Commander’s Leadership Behavior - Marvin Neu, Sophie Klüser and Heike Bruch: Charismatic Leadership and Motivation in High-Risk Environments: Affective Mechanisms and Implications for the Military Context - Peter Lucas Stöckli, Chantal Utzinger, Philippe Goldammer and Yannik Escher: Moving Beyond Command and Control: Applying Negotiation Tactics in the Military Context - Michael M. Olsansky: Why Soldiers fight: reflections on combat readiness from a military-historical perspective - Oleg Boyko, Hanna Ulunova, Volodymyr Korostiy, Oleksandr Polischuk, Mariya Bahiry, Viktor Komarenk and Oleh Hukovskyy: Psychological Combat Readiness in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Conceptualization, Field Evidence, and a Commander-Oriented Framework - J. F. Seewer: Benefits and Risks of International Personnel Deployment in the Swiss Armed Forces - Ivo Burgener and Thomas Bucheli: Peacekeeping in Korea: Insights from the Demilitarized Zone - Section C: Self-Reflection - Kilian Zimmermann: Self-Reflection as a Key Instrument When Beginning a Military Career - Can Nakkas, Jana Bergamin and Roman Spinnler: The Troop Psychological Advisor as a Link Between Troop Welfare and Mission Accomplishment in the Swiss Armed Forces - Tanja Arnold and Niklaus Jäger: Crisis Management Training in the Swiss Armed Forces: Experiences and Practical Implications for Military Readiness - Salvatore Lo Bue, Adriana Salatino and Arthur Prével: AI-Assisted Moral Decision Making in the Armed Forces: Replacing or Assisting Soldiers? - Jan Richner: Shift Your Thinking: Cognitive Flexibility and Operational Readiness - Patrick Hofstetter and Florian Demont: Military Science Models as Heuristic Contributions to the Defence Capabilities of Armed Forces - René Wellinger and Carolina F. Mösch: Culture and Resilience as Foundation of Armed Forces - Ulrich Zwygart: Leadership Mistakes in the Armed Forces: Types, Challenges, and Frameworks for Improvement - Fiorina Giuliani and Nadine Eggimann Zanetti: Marching Toward Virtue: Character Development in the Military? - Section D: Stress & Resilience - Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Thorsten Mikoteit and Serge Brand: Physical Activity, Exercising, and Psychological Well-Being - Regula Züger: How to Implement a Resilience Training: Lessons Learned from the Swiss Armed Forces - Anouk Glättli and Sebastian Ludyga: Executive Function in Young Recruits: Effects of Exercise and Cognitive Training - Michael D. Matthews: Cognitive Dominance in Military Operations: A Dual Process Model - Carl A. Castro, Eric R. Pedersen, Jordan P. Davis and James A. Martin: Combat Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Paul Bartone: The Benefits of Hardiness for Military Personnel - Maximilian Stoller and Allard Duursma: Coping with Vulnerability: Why Resilience Matters for Peacekeepers - Marcel Berni: Deprivation and Control: The Confinement of Communist POWs during Vietnam’s American War - Epilog: On the Importance of Being Not Too Earnest - Tibor Szvircsev Tresch and Marc Stadler: Hubert Annen’s Influence on the Findings of the “Security” Study Series: A not-to-be-taken-too-seriously contribution to the Festschrift - About the Authors