Military Behavioral Sciences: An Introduction

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction to the Military Behavioral Sciences section of the Handbook of Military Sciences. The importance of this domain and its contributions to understanding the armed forces, and military personnel in particular, is underscored. This is followed by a discussion of the breadth of the field of military behavioral sciences, the main research topics of focus, as well as the disciplines most often applied to study them. The evolution of this field of study is outlined, along with the main stakeholders engaged in this research, including academia, military and governmental scholars, think tanks, and others. The chapter concludes by offering some thoughts on the future of military behavioral sciences.