Measuring Lethal Force Performance in the Lab: The Effects of Simulator Realism and Participant Experience

Objective The goal of the current study was to compare two types of shooting simulators to determine which is best suited for assessing different aspects of lethal force performance. Background Military and law enforcement personnel are often required to make decisions regarding the use of lethal force. A critical goal of both training and research endeavors surrounding lethal force is to find ways to simulate lethal force encounters to better understand behavior in those scenarios. Method Participants of varying degrees of experience completed both marksmanship and shoot/don't shoot scenarios on both a video game and a military-grade shooting simulator. Using signal detection theory, we assessed sensitivity as a measure of lethal force performance overall. We used hit rate to assess shooting accuracy and false alarm rate to assess decision making. Results Results demonstrated that performance was correlated across simulators. Results supported the notion that shooting accuracy and decision making are independent components of performance. Individuals with firearms expertise outperformed novices on the military-grade simulator, but only with respect to shooting accuracy, not unintended casualties. Individuals with video game experience outperformed novices in the video game simulator, but again only on shooting accuracy. Conclusion Experience played a crucial role in the assessment of shooting accuracy on a given simulator platform; decision-making performance remained unaffected by experience level or type of simulator. Application We recommend that in expert populations or when assessing shooting accuracy, a military-grade shooting simulator be used. However, with a novice population and/or when interested in decision making in lethal force, a video game simulator is appropriate.