Unravelling the Mystery of Battlefield Coup d'oeil
Abstract
This monograph analyzes current theories of intuitive decision making originating from the fields of psychology, cognitive science, political science, and management science. The monograph's objective is to determine whether these theories help explain the trait considered essential for success on the battlefield, coup d'oeil. The monograph first synthesizes the thoughts on coup d'oeil as addressed by the preeminent military theorists. Next, it traces the development of research on intuitive decision making and how this research introduced a new decision making paradigm. Then, the monograph uses a specific intuitive decision making model, the recognition-primed (RPD), to evaluate the battlefield decision processes of two commanders--British Field Marshall William Slim and Israeli Major General Avraham Adan. Analysis of these two commanders' memoirs helps determine how well the RPD model captures the essence of decision making on the battlefield. The monograph concludes that the current thought on intuitive decision making provides significant insights into coup d'oeil. Specifically, the discoveries in the areas of situational assessment, sequential analysis of options, and mental simulation of proposed courses of action, elucidate how rapid decision making under uncertainty and ambiguity occurs. Additionally, the monograph's historic analysis uncovered another key aspect of intuitive decision making, the decision framework. This framework includes the numerous predispositions commanders bring to the battle, allowing them to assess their situations quickly and narrow their choices. These observations imply the military should be aggressively educating their officers about intuitive decision making, thereby unveiling the keys to battlefield coup d'oeil.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA264507
Entities
People
- Arthur J. Athens
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College