Lt 4 Lea . moot : AE ATES ARP aI te AOE LITE Unconventional techniques considered by the United States 1: Army for enhancing human performance were reviewed during ‘two-year study by a committee of the National Research Council. Little or no scientific evidence was found to support the effectiveness of several, including neurolinguistic program- ming in interpersonal influence and such paranormal tech- tiques as remote viewing and psychokinesis. Mixed results were Seen to characterize other techniques, for example, group- Cohesion procedures. Further study was suggested for a few, te mental practice of motor skills. Guidelines requested ‘te i committee for future army evaluation of enhancement “ta ques stressed the need for, and the conduct of, both lab- ‘ther ° and field research. The committee recommended fur- : nsideration of mainstream research in the behavioral Nie . . i “ences as a basis for effective performance enhancements. a | | mesa a the Army Research Institute (ARI) techni € National Research Council to assess a field of Aas ve designed to enhance human performance. As Were ¢ these techniques are extraordinary in that they ' Nehavign red outside of mainstream research in the any king sciences and are accompanied by strong e Neg wt high effectiveness. The ARI wanted a commit- . Tig will ug cee" eq 4 Ma | Dr i \ i { ' ' i d os kamine the potential of certain specified tech- , i to recommend appropriate criteria for evaluating rch tmiaues, and, where possible, to specify the re- f | t ce Necessary to advance understanding of perfor- those, wncements in areas of behavior related to the On, the Aprniques. In pursuing this line of investiga- ‘Yeagy : RI was reacting to broad and substantial ad- af human the army of trying to gain large enhancements | The 1 performance by any conceivable means. (Mor I { ‘ ammy’s interests, as summarized by ARI, included cient learning, improved motor skills, altered Addy : e | bot Be 8s Correspondence and reprint requests to John A. Swets, yt or OR Newman, Inc., 10 Moulton Street, Cambridge, MA lfomia L obert A. Bjork, Department of Psychology, University of * 08 Angeles, CA 90024. Approved For Releas® 2001/03707 5 GHAERDP96-00789R002200640001-7 General. Article ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE: | An Evaluation of ““New Age” Techniques Considered by the U.S. Army | by John A. Swets and Robert A. Bjork mental states, stress reduction, interpersonal influence, group cohesion, and certain parapsychological pro- cesses. More specifically, the army was considering the possibilities that learning could take place during sleep, that learning might be accelerated via packaged programs designed for that purpose, and that motor skills might be enhanced by guided imagery, mental practice, visual con- centration, and biofeedback. Further, it wished to pursue the possibility that mental states could be altered by self- induced hypnotism, meditation, focused concentration, or the integration of activity in the brain’s hemispheres, in order to promote periods of peak performance. The army was also interested in whether biofeedback and methods that purport to alter mental states might be use- ful in managing stress. Certain aspects of interpersonal and group processes were under examination as well, including whether group cohesion, which might be fos- tered by keeping army units intact, enhances group and individual performance. Finally, the army had an interest in such parapsychological processes as remote viewing and psychokinesis, or mind over matter, especially men- tal influence on the functioning of remote machines. It may at first seem strange that anyone in the army was interested in the panoply of behavioral processes and techniques that characterized the countercultural human- potential movement of the 1960s. However, in the 1980s advocates of such techniques have had success with an approach that is more entrepreneurial than ideological. Moreover, the techniques are presented less as related to general well-being and more as related to specific tasks, such as marksmanship, second-language learning, and sleep inducement. The army is not alone in this interest: Private industry and the general public have also given much attention to these New Age techniques in commer- cially available programs of general training and self help. The army’s interest in extending human abilities through parapsychological processes originated primarily in intel- ligence circles rather than in training circles, but para- Mo, _ No, 2.ApROMad For Release 2001/03/07 : CIACRDR96-0O789RO0220064 0001-7 85
1 PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Enhancing Human Performance psychology soon became a bedfellow of the unconven- imal education as well as short terms of duty, into. tional training techniques in the army. ‘ diers who possess the personal and social skills need, di battle as well as the technical skills needed to operate maintain complex equipment. It could understand Utne to look beyond slow, narrow, and insufficiently tangas mainstream research on human performance to enhay, ments that could come from elsewhere. And it was ay, that those in the army responsible for training and tg t nique evaluation would face difficulties in respondip, strong enhancement claims (both by army Officers outside vendors) for diverse and far-ranging technigy, The committee agreed that the general problem degen, ‘ FORMATION OF THE NRC COMMITTEE In conversations between Edgar M. Johnson, techni- eal director of ARI, and David A. Goslin, then executive director of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sci- ences and Education (CBASSE) of the NRC, and in a formal letter request, it was indicated that the ARI lead- ership wanted help, not only to reduce broad pressures on it that had recently intensified, but also with an im- portant national problem of interest to private industry and the public as well as the military. CBASSE members who evaluated this request included psychologists Wil- liam K. Estes, Ira J. Hirsh, Lauren Resnick, and Stanley Schachter. In response to the request, CBASSE moved to set up a committee especially for the purpose, with suggestions for particular kinds of expertise also from other advisers including psychologists Robert Boruch, Wendell R. Garner, Bert F. Green, and Gardner Lindzey. The first author of this article was enlisted as committee chair and, together with Goslin, he developed the final Springer, and Richard F. Thompson. OMA tT A NN. sr 2<. d fo OD objective and thorough examination and was Willing initiate such a study. by problem, including evaluation issues, sleep learning, celerated learning, guided imagery, biofeedback, Spl brain effects, stress management, cohesion, influen, and parapsychology. The committee met as a whole g, times in 2 years, in whole or part made ten site Visit invited twenty or so briefings, and commissioned jg background review papers.” It met twice with aR, source Advisory Group of army officers formed for th Oey wip Subcommittees were formed on various facets oft 3 retary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. = CApproved#er Release Poot193107 j CIA-BDP96-00789R00220064004°7» MARCH ME, recommendations for membership that were endorsed by | purpose. ee les dae cing a S the commission.! Daniel Druckman was appointed as the : a we a ale ad . a : ; : vf : : See oF niqu committee’s study director. ARMY BACKGROUND u nc The Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement _. cs of Human Performance (henceforth, the committee) met The army’s interest in parapsychology is reported the ; first in late July 1985. ARI’s Johnson along with George | be longstanding, including, for example, sponsorship g lishe Lawrence, its liaison to the committee, arranged for sev- | ESP research by J.B. Rhine in the early 1950s. Remote. trait eral speakers at the first meeting, who informed and | viewing experiments were conducted for the army by thy’ and sometimes perplexed the members. A few speakers de- | Stanford Research Institute in the 1970s. A military co, C scribed single techniques, others waxed enthusiastic | cern has been that the Soviets have been active in the? visu about the full range of them, and one, a retired general, | development of psychic abilities, including the abilityy. . | ma> spoke eloquently of his own extensive psychokinetic | affect the behavior of others through mental telepathy. 4’ trol powers. proposal developed in the army for the First Earth By: for General Maxwell R. Thurman was the motivational | talion envisioned warrior monks with a range of parapsy." erat speaker at dinner the first evening. His graphs demon- : tan strated that in terms of recruits’ test scores, the army was >. Ten commissioned papers, available from the National Academy lige doing increasingly better, and also better compared to the | Press, are these: Eric Eich, Learning during sleep; Robert E. Slavia’ y) other services. His review of the traditional and growing Principles of effective instruction; Deborah L. Feltz, Daniel W. cor demands placed on soldiers, however, made clear that Landers, and Betsy J. Becker, A revised meta-analysis of the ment que th d d ti dt tstrip abilities b 1 practice literature on motor skill learning; Seymour Levine, Stress al; ese emands continued to outstrip abilities by a large performance; Raymond W. Novaco, Stress reduction and the militay; me: “margin. Dean G. Pruitt, Jennifer Crocker, and Deborah Hanes, Matching aly que other influence strategies; Boaz Tamir and Gideon Kunda, Culture at che military performance; James E. Alcock, A comprehensive review d; are THE COMMITTEE’S APPROACH major empirical studies in parapsychology involving random event ge pre The committee could easily imagine the great difficul- erators and remote viewing; Monica J. Harris and Robert Rosenti, ties faced in conve rting recruits, most of them with min- Interpersonal expectancy effects and human performance reseatk 1¢s 8 , Dale Griffin, Intuitive judgment and the evaluation of evidence. ate 3, The Resource Advisory Group consisted of general officers why bo ~ 1, The committee consisted of John A. Swets, chair, Robert A. | held the positions of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Deputy Chit fits Bjork, Thomas D. Cook, Gerald C. Davison, Lloyd G. Humphreys, of Staff for Intelligence, Director of Army Research and Technolog” su Ray Hyman, Daniel M. Landers, Sandra A. Mobley, Lyman W. Porter, | Commander of the Soldier Support Center, and Commander, Media: m Michael I. Posner, Walter Schneider, Jerome E. Singer, Sally P. | Research and Development Command and as well the Assistant Se ’ ul: