IDF officers' school
Photo: Galit Kosovsky
IDF questionnaire to test soldiers' honesty
Army uses updated psychological research to create new sorting tool aimed at testing future officers
The IDF is piloting a new questionnaire aimed at testing its soldiers' honesty, which it plans to use mainly to approve those who hope to attend officers' training. The questionnaire is comprised of a number of informational and perceptual questions.
The questionnaire, which has been two years in the making, was handed out to officer school hopefuls recently in a trial to test its validity. It was created by the army's Behavioral Science Department mainly in order to detect destructive behavior such as alcohol consumption, aggressiveness at work, theft, vandalism, and more.
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An IDF official told Ynet the army was attempting to combine new psychological research with its sorting needs. "But because of the sensitivity we will not jump to conclusions," he said. "We will examine other indications in certain cases before classifying anyone."
The official added that the questionnaire was replacing other outdated techniques to acquire the same knowledge. "Now with the development of the new tool, we will have another means of measurement compatible with the military realm," he said.
The IDF has refused to reveal details about the questionnaire, but has said that the soldier under examination will be asked to reveal feelings, viewpoints, beliefs, and preferences that testify to his reliability.
It will also include questions about absenteeism, weapons theft, confidentiality, and security of information.
The official says that in employing the questionnaire the IDF is following a number of other public and private organizations. "The focus groups have shown that the vast majority believes it is important that a large organization such as the IDF use such a questionnaire to try to identify aberrant cases," he said.
Recently the army was plagued with two cases in which senior officers, the former commanders of the Gaza Division and the Galilee Division, were revealed to have submitted false reports of traffic accidents involving family members.
But the IDF says the questionnaire is not a product of these events. "This is a development that began before these affairs, with an aim of providing another tool to test the army's population," the official said.
