Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability
Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of <i>fluid...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Intelligence |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/11/12/225 |
| _version_ | 1827574521439191040 |
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| author | David Z. Hambrick Alexander P. Burgoyne Erik M. Altmann Tyler J. Matteson |
| author_facet | David Z. Hambrick Alexander P. Burgoyne Erik M. Altmann Tyler J. Matteson |
| author_sort | David Z. Hambrick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of <i>fluid intelligence</i> (Gf) and two executive functions—<i>placekeeping ability</i> and <i>attention control</i>—to the relationship between the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score from the ASVAB and job-relevant multitasking performance. Psychometric network analyses revealed that Gf and placekeeping ability independently contributed to and largely explained the AFQT–multitasking performance relationship. The contribution of attention control to this relationship was negligible. However, attention control did relate positively and significantly to Gf and placekeeping ability, consistent with the hypothesis that it is a cognitive “primitive” underlying the individual differences in higher-level cognition. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger evidence for the incremental validity of Gf and placekeeping ability in the prediction of multitasking performance than for the incremental validity of attention control. The results shed light on factors that may underlie the predictive validity of global measures of cognitive ability and suggest how the ASVAB might be augmented to improve its predictive validity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:38:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e114b12f62374186adc4094945e545d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-3200 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:38:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Intelligence |
| spelling | doaj.art-e114b12f62374186adc4094945e545d72023-12-22T14:18:17ZengMDPI AGJournal of Intelligence2079-32002023-12-01111222510.3390/jintelligence11120225Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping AbilityDavid Z. Hambrick0Alexander P. Burgoyne1Erik M. Altmann2Tyler J. Matteson3Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USASchool of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30327, USADepartment of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAScores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of <i>fluid intelligence</i> (Gf) and two executive functions—<i>placekeeping ability</i> and <i>attention control</i>—to the relationship between the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score from the ASVAB and job-relevant multitasking performance. Psychometric network analyses revealed that Gf and placekeeping ability independently contributed to and largely explained the AFQT–multitasking performance relationship. The contribution of attention control to this relationship was negligible. However, attention control did relate positively and significantly to Gf and placekeeping ability, consistent with the hypothesis that it is a cognitive “primitive” underlying the individual differences in higher-level cognition. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger evidence for the incremental validity of Gf and placekeeping ability in the prediction of multitasking performance than for the incremental validity of attention control. The results shed light on factors that may underlie the predictive validity of global measures of cognitive ability and suggest how the ASVAB might be augmented to improve its predictive validity.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/11/12/225ASVABcognitive abilityjob performanceindividual differencesplacekeeping abilityattention control |
| spellingShingle | David Z. Hambrick Alexander P. Burgoyne Erik M. Altmann Tyler J. Matteson Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability Journal of Intelligence ASVAB cognitive ability job performance individual differences placekeeping ability attention control |
| title | Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability |
| title_full | Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability |
| title_fullStr | Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability |
| title_short | Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability |
| title_sort | explaining the validity of the asvab for job relevant multitasking performance the role of placekeeping ability |
| topic | ASVAB cognitive ability job performance individual differences placekeeping ability attention control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/11/12/225 |
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