Targeted Attentional Gaze : Gaze Behavior as a Mechanism for Learning and Performance in VR-Based Marksmanship Training

Effective small-unit operations depend on the ability to rapidly detect threats and discriminate relevant information within complex environments. However, traditional marksmanship assessments primarily evaluate performance outcomes such as hit accuracy while providing limited insight into the perceptual and cognitive processes that support situational awareness and skill acquisition. Additionally, constraints in live-fire training limit opportunities for scalable, progressively structured practice. Together, these gaps highlight the need for training systems and metrics that capture how expertise develops.

 

This study evaluates a progressive virtual reality (VR) marksmanship training system designed to enhance qualification readiness while introducing gaze dispersion as a perceptually grounded indicator of learning within the training process. Army ROTC cadets complete a baseline VR qualification, multiple distributed training sessions with increasing task complexity and variability, and a post-training qualification. Behavioral, perceptual, and physiological data including but not limited to - accuracy, shot timing, gaze behavior, and cognitive workload, are collected across sessions.

 

Multilevel models assess changes in performance over time and evaluate whether training improves qualification outcomes. Within the training group, gaze behavior is analyzed to examine how visual search strategies reorganize during learning and whether early perceptual patterns predict later performance.

 

Results are expected to show that progressive VR training improves marksmanship performance, while perceptual learning is reflected in a transition from broad, inefficient visual sampling to more stable, task-relevant gaze patterns. Hypothetically if these changes co-occur, improved performance could suggest better recognition of task relevant environmental cues. 

 

This work provides an objective framework for linking perceptual processes to training outcomes, while demonstrating how scalable VR-based training systems can accelerate expertise and enhance military performance and readiness.