Morale ( / m ə ˈ r æ l / mə- RAL , UK also /- ˈ r ɑː l / - RAHL ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower , obedience , and self-discipline of a group tasked with performing duties assigned by a superior . According to Alexander H. Leighton , "morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose". . With good morale, a force will be less likely to give up or surrender. Morale is usually assessed at a collective, rather than an individual level. In wartime, civilian morale is also important.
26-399: Personnel support programs (PSPs) provide morale and welfare services for Canadian Forces (CF) men and women, and their families. PSPs are part of non -public funds (NPFs), meaning that they do not directly receive taxpayer money. They are, however, closely related to the publicly funded Department of National Defence . PSPs contribute to the formation's operational readiness by keeping
52-422: A few conclusions. The idea of comfort varies among each person; however, there are a few universal themes of comfort that apply to everyone. Most of these universal themes falls under the physical comfort such as contact comfort, comfort food, and thermal comfort. Contact comfort is satisfaction with someone's touch, like a parent's embrace. This is essential to a child's development. Harry Harlow study One of
78-499: A quarter of the [US] Army's officers and enlisted soldiers believe the nation's largest military branch is headed in the right direction." The "... most common reasons cited for the bleak outlook were "ineffective leaders at senior levels," a fear of losing the best and the brightest after a decade of war, and the perception, especially among senior enlisted soldiers, that "the Army is too soft" and lacks sufficient discipline." Employee morale
104-468: A range of temperature. This was labeled temperature neutrality, which is the rate that the person's metabolism is shifting the same rate as the surrounding temperature. The average comfortable temperature is 30 °C (86 °F). Temperatures too hot (35 °C (95 °F) and above) and temperatures too low (12 °C (54 °F) and below) are considered uncomfortable to many people. Thermal neutrality Thermal neutrality ( thermal neutral zone )
130-438: A role in consuming comfort foods. Most people tend to eat simply because "it's lunch time" and only 20% of the time is due to actual hunger. Food preferences Food preferences split into two categories: snack-related and meal-related. If a child was exposed to many snacks growing up, they may focus on more snack-related comfort foods later on in life. Food preference ranges through male/female, and younger/older. Females and
156-434: A soldier is recruited, clothed, armed and trained, the whole object of his sleeping, eating, drinking, and marching is simply that he should fight at the right place and the right time. Military morale is in a large sense inseparable from civilian morale because each reacts upon the other and both are in large measure based on fidelity to a cause. But there is a certain kind of morale that is distinctly military. It begins with
182-490: A whole, better morale than one without. Historically, elite military units such as special operations forces have "high morale" due to their training and pride in their unit. When a unit's morale is said to be "depleted", it means it is close to "crack and surrender". It is well worth noting that generally speaking, most commanders do not look at the morale of specific individuals but rather the "fighting spirit" of squadrons, divisions, battalions, ships, etc. Clausewitz stresses
208-417: A widely read military author of the pre- World War I era, viewed morale as related to the instinct of self-preservation, the suppression of which he said was "the moral fear of turning back", in other words, that a willingness to fight was bolstered by a strong sense of duty. Henderson wrote: Human nature must be the basis of every leader's calculations. To sustain the moral[e] of his own men; to break down
234-427: Is highly subjective. The use of "comfort" as a verb generally implies that the subject is in a state of pain , suffering or affliction, and requires alleviation from that state. Where the term is used to describe the support given to someone who has experienced a tragedy, the word is synonymous with consolation or solace . However, comfort is used much more broadly, as one can provide physical comfort to someone who
260-424: Is not in a position to be uncomfortable. For example, a person might sit in a chair without discomfort, but still find the addition of a pillow to the chair to increase their feeling of comfort. Something that provides this type of comfort, which does not seek to relieve hardship, can also be referred to as being " comfy ". There are various psychological studies about the feeling of comfort, and they have resulted in
286-510: Is proven to have a direct effect on productivity ; it is one of the corner stones of business . Comfort Comfort (or being comfortable ) is a sense of physical or psychological ease , often characterised as a lack of hardship . Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable , or experiencing discomfort . A degree of psychological comfort can be achieved by recreating experiences that are associated with pleasant memories , such as engaging in familiar activities, maintaining
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#1732858480339312-462: Is related to various perceptions, physiological, social, and psychological needs, and after food, clothing is one of the significant objects that suffices for comfort requirements. Clothing provides aesthetic, tactile, thermal, moisture, and pressure comfort. Human comfort can also be categorized by areas such visual comfort, acoustic comfort, and respiratory comfort. Visual comfort is defined as "the state of mind that expresses satisfaction with
338-460: Is the temperature range where it is neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. The human body's metabolism is burning calories at the same rate as the temperature around. This would be around 24 °C (75 °F) (room temperature), and people have no opinion about the temperature. Thermal neutrality is often also used in animal raising. For example, farmers maintain the neutral temperature for cattle to prevent cold stress . Everyday uses Comfort
364-483: The moral[e] of his enemy—these are the great objects which, if he be ambitious of success, he must always keep in view. During the proceedings of the Southborough Committee inquiry concerning shellshock , testimony by Colonel J. F. C. Fuller defined morale as "the acquired quality which in highly-trained troops counterbalances the influence of the instinct of self-preservation." Of Henderson's "moral fear",
390-546: The CF community fit and healthy in both mind and body. PSPs are involved in every aspect of a CF community member's fitness, sport and recreational activities. This Canadian government –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Morale Military history experts have not agreed on a precise definition of "morale". Clausewitz's comments on the subject have been described as "deliberately vague" by modern scholars. George Francis Robert Henderson ,
416-411: The company, and that he himself is the best blankety-blank soldier man in the outfit." In military science , there are two meanings to morale: individual perseverance and unit cohesion . Morale is often highly dependent on soldier effectiveness, health, comfort, safety, and belief-in-purpose, and therefore an army with good supply lines , sound air cover, and a clear objective will typically possess, as
442-435: The eater into a pleasurable state. This could be credited to food preferences and childhood experiences (like a parent's cooking). Physiological responses Comfort food is usually chosen because of previous experiences of happiness linked with it. For example, chocolate is held as a popular comfort food as it is followed by the pleasurable sweetness and the positive association with gifts/rewards. The time of day also play
468-491: The end of the experiment, the psychologist saw that the monkeys would choose the cloth surrogate over the wire surrogate. They concluded that having basic needs is essential, but there is the need for closeness and affection. This experiment justified that importance of comfort and warmth for child development. All the monkeys that grew up from the experiment expressed a behavior of aggression and atypical sexual behaviors. Comfort foods are foods intentionally consumed to move
494-412: The importance of morale and will for both the soldier and the commander. The soldier's first requirement is moral and physical courage , both the acceptance of responsibility and the suppression of fear . In order to survive the horror of combat[,] he must have an invincible martial spirit, which can be attained only through military victory and hardship. The soldier has but one purpose: "The end for which
520-422: The individual's confidence and pride in himself, his comrades, his leaders; the unit's pride in its own will; these basic things, supplemented by intelligent welfare and recreation measures and brought to life by a spirit of mutual respect and co-operation, combine to weld a seasoned fighting force capable of defending the nation. In August 2012, an article entitled "Army morale declines in survey" states that "only
546-415: The most famous developmental psychological studies is Harry Harlow 's development experiment with monkeys. He separated baby monkeys at birth and raised them with surrogate mothers. There were two types of surrogate mothers: a metal wire one, and one covered with cloth. Each was equipped with a nozzle from which the baby monkeys could "breast" feed. The surrogate mother covered in cloth represented comfort. At
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#1732858480339572-430: The presence of familiar objects , and consumption of comfort foods . Comfort is a particular concern in health care , as providing comfort to the sick and injured is one goal of healthcare, and can facilitate recovery. Persons who are surrounded with things that provide psychological comfort may be described as being "in their comfort zone ". Because of the personal nature of positive associations, psychological comfort
598-415: The soldier's attitude toward duty . It develops with the soldier's command over himself. It is a spirit that becomes dominant in the individual and also in the group. Whether the soldier has physical comforts or suffers physical hardships may be a factor but is seldom the determining factor in making or unmaking his morale. A cause known and believed in; knowledge that substantial justice governs discipline;
624-399: The soldier's sense of duty, it is contrasted with the fear of death, and to control one's troops required of a commander more than authoritarian force, but other strategies to be deployed to that purpose. An American general defined morale as "when a soldier thinks his army is the best in the world, his regiment the best in the army, his company the best in the regiment, his squad the best in
650-421: The visual environment." This type of comfort can be achieved when an individual has a sufficient amount of light to perform an activity or task. It is possible for both low and high levels of light to create discomfort. Acoustic comfort is a state of being where noise levels are not harming or interfering with the activities of individuals in some area. Respiratory comfort is achieved in an environment where
676-437: The young demographic prefer snack-related comfort foods, while the male and older demographic prefer meal-related comfort foods. Thermal comfort is a satisfaction of the ambient air temperature and humidity. Psychologists devised a study to determine the most comfortable temperature. The study had people answering a survey as the temperature changed around them. From the surveys, psychologist found many people had no opinion of
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