TITLE:
Personnel Security outside the Box
AUTHORS:
Semyon Ioffe, Sergey Yesin
KEYWORDS:
Security; Military; Personnel; Unconscious; Semantic; Stress
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.3 No.2,
February
23,
2012
ABSTRACT: This study describes the theoretical and methodological bases of research of psycho-semantic spheres of the psyche of Dari speaking Afghani military personnel. 812 military personnel including 50 intelligence officers were subjected to two types of tests. The first questioner type investigation was the task where the individual was to provide some classification about a topic. The response was a judgment of similarity and/or other association. The second test was a subliminal probing, where the individual had no idea of topics being tested and was acting in a game like environment. The test measured the subject’s response time to words or images (semantic stimuli) targeting the unconscious mind. A non-invasive, non-intrusive unconscious probing provided results which were highly corroborated by eight senior Military Intelligence officers’ ratings. The questioner type test exposed a number of strategies of evading testing procedures overwhelmingly used by tested personnel, even by those who were cleared by subliminal probing and expert opinion. In addition to discussion of the probabilities of false positives and false negative responses; assessment of one’s mental agility or ability to react and learn under stress; general psychological makeup of the population tested is discussed. We established that anyone can take a psycho-semantic unconscious probing test even illiterate people of any race, language or culture. A Semantic Stimuli Response Measurement (SSRM Tek.) test allows for large-scale screening operations to identify unknown threats to national security while serving as a deterrent to undesirable or illegal behaviours and helps to set high standards in personal conduct. Key words: security, military, personnel, unconscious, semantic, stress.