1S ap- req). legit- icture ’ APS ferlap xperi- salth- hat is ALEAS | eem- o the f De- APA, iged. ewer "Was fune, \sNuocil- WRC TA® nencan Praffin, nencan Human jail, J, aM ZiNg womany dlagicsl sy: Will 4 Yexece 1 £990 - ae wee ro \ | { General Article | ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE: An Evaluation of ““New Age”’ Techniques Considered by the U.S. Army > Unconventional techniques considered by the United States Army for enhancing Auman performance were reviewed during anmo-year study by a committee of the Nutional Research i Council. Little or na scientific evidence was found to support the effectiveness of several, including neurolinguistic programe ming in interpersonal influence and such paranormal tech- niques as remote viewing and psychokinesis, Mixed results were seen to characterize other techniques, for example, group- cohesion procedurey, Further study was suggested for a few, including mental practice uf motor skills. Guidelines requested df the comunittee for future army evaluation of enhancement uchniques stressed the need for. and the conduct of, both lab- oratory and field research, The committee recommended fury [ther consideration of mainstream research tn the behavioral | idlences as a basis for effective performance enhancements, lie ee Five years apo the Army Research Institute (ARI) asked the National Research Council to assess a field of techniques designed to enhance human performance. As aclass, these techniques are extraordinary in that they were developed outside of mainstream research in the behavioral sciences and are accompanied by strong claims for high effectiveness. The ARI wanted a commit- tee ta examine the potential of certain specified tech- aiques, (oO recommend appropriate criteria for evaluating such techniques, and. where pussible, to specify the re- jsearch necessary to advance understanding of perfor- mance enhancements in areas of behavior related to the proposed techniques. In pursuing this line of investiga- ltion, the ARI was reacting to broad and substantial ad- vocacy in the army of trying to gain large enhancements of human performance by any conceivable means. The army's interests, as summarized by ARI. included imore efficient learning, improved motor skills, altered Address correypondence and reprint requests to John A. Swets. Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., 10 Myultan Street, Cambridge, MA 0238, or to Robert A. Bjork, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 9(x)24, VOL. 1, NO 2. MARCH 1990 by John A. Swets and Robert A. Bjork menial 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 arder to promote periods of peak performance. The urmy was also interested in whether biofeedback and methods that purport to alter mental states might be use- | ful in manuging 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-Janguage learning. and sleep inducement. The army is not alone in this interest: Private. industry and the general public have also given much attention (o these New Age techniques in commer- cially available programs of general training and self help. The army’s.interest in extending human abililies through parapsychological processes originated primarily in intel- ligence circles rather than in training circles, but para- 85 Copyright ¢ 1990 American Psychological Society Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200650001-6