The Development of the Graded Mental Training Scale in the Israeli Army

Based on the Graded Exertion Scale that has been excessively used in the Israeli army, the Graded Mental Training Scale aims at standardizing the mental effort that soldiers experience. The standardization process consists of a quantitative dimension alongside a content one. The quantitative dimension centers on the amount of mental effort the soldiers are being exposed to. Hence, the purpose, as in the exertion scale, is to regulate and customize the mental load to the soldiers` developmental stage (e.g., professional progress, current and expected duties, etc). The intension of the standardized mental load is to provide a mental challenge, yet one within reach, for the soldiers. Through these mental challenges soldiers learn how to adjust to the mental intensity required for successful completion of their missions. Since various tasks require different types of mental abilities, the content dimension centers on how the mental effort distributes among various categories of mental requirements (resilience and adaptive thinking, arousal regulation, regulating self-confidence, etc). Hence, the standardized mental scale verifies diverse exposure to mental demands through which various mental abilities are acquired. In this presentation, the research process of developing the Graded Mental Training Scale is elaborated upon.