4.4 Article

The role of death anxiety on marksmanship performance: a virtual reality simulator study

Journal

ERGONOMICS
Volume 65, Issue 2, Pages 219-232

Publisher

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2021.1965222

Keywords

Death anxiety; trait anxiety; state anxiety; marksmanship performance; virtual reality simulator

Funding

  1. National IT Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT the Republic of Korea

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The study examines how death anxiety affects state anxiety and shooting performance, with results showing that death anxiety increases state anxiety while decreasing marksmanship performance. This has important implications for the military.
Despite the well-established relationship between state anxiety and marksmanship performance, few efforts have examined the individual differences that affect the extent to which individuals experience state anxiety in combat situations. Thus, further studies are needed to increase the probability of mission accomplishment, which could ultimately serve to safely bring soldiers home. The present study examined how death anxiety, a trait-based difference affects state anxiety, which in turn affects shooting performance on a battlefield. In particular, we used a virtual reality simulator to create a realistic engagement setting in which simulated death anxiety is salient. On a sample of 99 active-duty enlisted men in the Republic of Korea Army, we found that death anxiety, and not trait anxiety, increased state anxiety, which in turn decreased marksmanship performance. Overall, the current findings highlight the role of death anxiety in combat situations. The practical implications and avenues for future research are also discussed. Practical summary Soldiers encounter anxiety in threatening circumstances in which mortality is salient. We examined the role of trait death anxiety in combat situations using a virtual reality simulator. The results indicate that death anxiety increases state anxiety while decreasing marksmanship performance, which has important implications for the military.

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