Predicting Target Detection Performance Using The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Subtests And Cognitive Factor Tests PDF Download

The Army's Project A developed and validated measures of abilities other than the general cognitive domain covered by the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Busciglio (1990) analyzed data from the 1985 Concurrent Validation phase of Project A and found that Project A spatial scores substantially incremented the predictive validity of ASVAB. However, a number of questions were left unanswered. How useful are spatial abilities to performance in various entry-level Army jobs? Do spatial tests remain valid predictors after the ASVAB subtests have been added to prediction equations? Busciglio's (1990) original sample of 4,039 individuals in nine entry-level MOS was again used. Predictors were the ASVAB and the Project A spatial tests. Criteria were comprehensive measures of job performance and included written and hands-on tests of common and MOS-specific tasks. Backward stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. In comparing the results with those of Busciglio (1990), it was found that the spatial tests accounted for approximately as much criterion variance as did the ASVAB tests, indicating the importance of spatial skills to the performance of many Army jobs. Also, several of the spatial tests were especially strong predictors of the criterion measures across MOS, suggesting that they would lead to improved prediction of job performance if incorporated into the Army's selection composites. A number of methodological considerations are noted as an aid to interpreting these results.