Not according to plan: Cognitive failures in marksmanship due to effects of expertise, unknown environments, and the likelihood of shooting unintended targets
Biggs, Adam T. Hamilton, Joseph A. Thompson, Andrew G. Jensen, Andrew E. Suss, Joel Kelly, Karen R. Markwald, Rachel R.
Biggs, Adam T.
Hamilton, Joseph A.
Thompson, Andrew G.
Jensen, Andrew E.
Suss, Joel
Kelly, Karen R.
Markwald, Rachel R.
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Issue Date
2023-10-01
Type
Article
Genre
Keywords
Marksmanship,Expertise,Unintended casualties,Firearms,Cognition,Speed/accuracy trade-off
Subjects (LCSH)
Citation
Biggs, A. T., Hamilton, J. A., Thompson, A. G., Jensen, A., Suss, J., Kelly, K., & Markwald, R. R. (2023b). Not according to plan: Cognitive failures in marksmanship due to effects of expertise, unknown environments, and the likelihood of shooting unintended targets. Applied Ergonomics, 112, 104058. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2023.104058
Abstract
Shooting errors have multi-faceted causes with contributing factors that include sensorimotor activity and cognitive failures. Empirical investigations often assess mental errors through threat identification, yet other cognitive failures could contribute to poor outcomes. The current study explored several possible sources of cognitive failures unrelated to threat identification with live fire exercises. Experiment 1 examined a national shooting competition to compare marksmanship accuracy, expertise, and planning in the likelihood of hitting no-shoot or unintended targets. Experts demonstrated an inverse speed/accuracy trade-off and fired upon fewer no-shoot targets than lesser skilled shooters, yet overall, greater opportunity to plan produced more no-shoot errors, thereby demonstrating an increase in cognitive errors. Experiment 2 replicated and extended this finding under conditions accounting for target type, location, and number. These findings further dissociate the roles of marksmanship and cognition in shooting errors while suggesting that marksmanship evaluations should be re-designed to better incorporate cognitive variables.
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Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Journal
Book Title
Series
Applied Ergonomics
Volume 112
Volume 112
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Archival Collection
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DOI
ISSN
0003-6870