The Bulletin of National Defence University of Ukraine

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to clarify the role of personal characteristics of officers in ensuring effective military management in a complex, dynamic, and uncertain operational environment. The purpose of the study was to identify specific features of the relationship between conscientiousness and openness to experience in the personal profile of officers undergoing training for an operational level of military education, and to substantiate psychological and pedagogical approaches to the development of a balance between normative self-regulation and cognitive flexibility in the system of professional military education. The study used a psychometric approach based on the five-factor personality model (Big Five). Empirical data were obtained using the Big Five Inventory-2 questionnaire (BFI-2), implemented on the “I am a Psychologist” platform. The statistical analysis included 424 valid officer profiles. Descriptive statistics were used for data processing, in particular, the calculation of mean values and standard deviations. To check the statistical significance of differences between indicators of conscientiousness and openness to experience, the Student’s t-test was applied. The results showed that in the study sample, the most pronounced trait was conscientiousness (M = 3.92; SD = 0.417), which was manifested primarily through organisation (M = 4.07), productivity and responsibility (M = 3.84). Openness to experience had a moderate level of expression (M = 3.60; SD = 0.521) and a predominantly cognitive character, which was confirmed by higher indicators of creative imagination (M = 3.77) and intellectual curiosity (M = 3.74) compared to aesthetic sensitivity (M = 3.29). Statistical analysis confirmed a significant difference between indicators of conscientiousness and openness to experience (t = 9.88; p < 0.001), and Cohen’s d effect size of ≈ 0.68 indicated the practical significance of this difference. The data obtained give grounds to interpret the personal profile of officers as one in which the regulatory component prevails, while simultaneously the potential for developing adaptability, alternative analysis, and innovative thinking remains. The practical significance of the findings lies in demonstrating the value of strengthening problem-based learning, scenario-based simulation, and “red team” exercises within the system of professional military education

References