Much progress has been made recently by national and international technical demonstration programmes on the development of Synthetic Environments. In evaluating these programmes, many commentators have pointed out how application of findings from the Human Sciences can increase the scope and effectiveness of these environments. They have called for more Human Science, but often in unfocussed and overly ambitious ways raising expectations that the Human Sciences cannot yet meet and overlooking important contributions that are ready to be made.

This overview describes key characteristics of Synthetic Environments and identifies key areas in which the Human Sciences can and should contribute. The overview identifies limitations that currently exist in applying Human Sciences to Synthetic Environments. The paper also discusses ways in which the Human Sciences should and should not be used for modelling physiological, psychological and social behaviour in Semi-Autonomous Forces; existing and still needed research in the management and control of simulation; assessment of simulation fidelity; measurement of training effectiveness; and applications in operational assessment and mission rehearsal.

A framework is provided to identify research priorities that will help satisfy the expectations of both technologists and users and that provide challenges that the Human Sciences can successfully meet. The impact and benefits of more focused and successful application of the Human Sciences to Synthetic Environments in both increasing the capabilities of Synthetic Environments and improving military operational effectiveness is indicated.