Research Fellowships: Graduate Student Research Fellowships are available with the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI).

Location: The positions offers flexibility regarding location, allowing for remote work with periodic visits to Ft. Cavazos as needed.

Wage: The hourly wage ranges from $18.00 to $32.00 and is determined by the graduate student’s academic standing and program of study. Graduate students interested in these fellowships will be expected to work up to but no more than 20-30 hours per week and have the option of working 40 hours per week during summer.

Research Support: Fellows at the Fort Cavazos Research Unit (FCRU) will work in a new in-house research project on augmenting team training using validated individual level cognitive training. Team cognition is a key aspect to the Team-related KSBs which Soldiers need to be trained in. Training methods for individual cognitive processes have been researched for much longer in relation to team cognitive processes; training individual cognitive processes is more mature and has resulted in well-validated methods for training individual cognitive processes. Incorporating some of these methods into US Army team training methods for the future operating environment may likely be beneficial over current training methods. A framework including five primary research questions is needed to identify these target cognitive training methods. The questions are 1) What are the team related KSBs in the Army Talent Attribution Framework (ATAF)? 2) What team cognitive processes are involved in these KSBs? 3) What individual cognitive processes are part of these team cognitive processes? 4) What are the existing well validated training methods for these individual cognitive processes? 5) Can training on individual-level cognitive processes affect team-level cognitive processes, and can that impact be effectually measured (over time)? This framework would then be used in a contracted research project to modify Army training methods to incorporate these identified cognitive training methodologies and test the training for its efficacy. 

The Fellow will be expected to accomplish the following tasks:

– Review the existing work, including ongoing ARI efforts, to identifying which KSBs are necessary for training soldiers for future operating environment. This may also entail meeting with subject matter experts within ARI and/or currently funded by ARI.

– Review the current literature on team cognition to identify which team cognitive processes are relevant to the above Army KSBs.

– Review the current literature on individual cognitive processes to identify which contribute to the above team cognitive processes; what training methods exist for these individual cognitive processes; how well have these training methods been supported by the research evidence for individual and team cognitive process including measurement of efficacy over time?

– Use the above to construct a framework connecting the following with the levels of 1) Team-related Army KSBs, 2) Team cognitive processes, 3) Individual cognitive processes, 4) Existing training for individual cognitive processes, 5) Efficacy of this training on individual and team-level cognitive processes

– Refine the framework via feedback from subject matter experts within or funded by the ARI.

– Compile the above into a report to be used for soliciting a contract on incorporating identified individual cognitive process training into US army team training.

Qualifications:

– Advanced graduate student with experience in reviewing existing literature and writing scientific reports and/or papers.

– Background in cognition in the form of either:

1. Cognitive psychology/neuroscience or educational psychology with expertise in individual-level cognition and an interest in team/social cognition

2. Industrial/organizational, educational, or social psychology with expertise in team/social cognition and an interest in individual-level cognition

– Experience (or high interest) in applying research to high-stress operational environments with highly trained populations working with high consequences of performance. E.G., military, airflight, spaceflight, emergency medicine, law enforcement, firefighting, disaster response.

Prior knowledge of the Army is not a requirement for candidates interested in a Fellowship. Some travel will be required as part of the Fellowship. Qualified candidates must be U.S. citizens, must complete a security background check, and must obtain and maintain a Federal Government Common Access Card.