Situational Constraints Within Air Force Task Environments

Field research investigating the nature and consequences of situational performance constraints has only recently begun to appear in the psychological and management literature. Survey and performance appraisal data were obtained from a sample of 274 military and civilian employees of a United States Air Force civil engineering organization. The typical respondent (88%) in the sample was an enlisted man between 26 and 30 years of age. Pearson correlational analysis yielded a paucity of significant relationships. However, correlation ratios suggested that the relationship between supervisory per- formance ratings and the constraints ratings was curvilinear.     

Challenges in Transforming Military Training: Research and Application of Advanced Simulation and Training Technologies and Methods

This study addresses the need to validate estimates of cross-job retraining times against measures of actual retraining success. Specialty-level cross-job retraining time estimates were computed for 43 U.S. Air Force (USAF) enlisted specialties. The estimates were based on profiles of mean subject- matter-expert ratings of months to proficiency across 26 task categories. Individual-level criteria indicating previous job skill utilization, current skills and abilities, and current job performance were obtained from a separate study conducted 10 years earlier. Results were supportive: Correlations between retraining time estimates and performance criteria were negative and statistically significant. Future research needs and potential applications of retraining time estimates are discussed.     

Measuring Airman Job Performance Using Occupational Survey Data

This research effort produced a task-based measure of job performance using data from existing Air Force occupational surveys. Previous performance measures col- lected in the field during the Air Force Job Performance Measurement (JPM) program were time consuming and expensive because they involved hands-on observation and measurement. The alternative, low-cost, readily available measure developed in this study accounted for the number and difficulty of job tasks performed by an airman and was validated against data from the JPM program using airman aptitude and experience as predictor variables. Results showed that the occupational task-based performance measure rank ordered airmen similarly to the JPM measure in terms of average performance, suggesting its value as a more cost-effective measure of work productivity.     

Review of psychomotor skills in pilot selection research of the U.S. military services

This review provides an historical perspective of the use of psychomotor, perceptual--cognitive paper-and-pencil, and automated tests for the selection of pilot trainees by the U.S. military services. Automated versions of vintage psychomotor tests (developed in the 1930s and 1940s) seem to be as predictive of military pilot/aviator performance today as in the past. The psychomotor tests receiving the most attention today are the Complex Coordination and Two-Hand Coordination tests originally developed by Mashburn and colleagues [correction of colleges] before World War II (Mashburn, 1934). These tests were significant predictors of Air Force and Navy pass--fail criteria in the past, and automated versions are similarly predictive today. The U.S. Army and Air Force are now using a combination of paper-and-pencil and automated psychomotor--cognitive tests for initial selection (Air Force) or helicopter assignment (Army). It appears that the Navy is considering the use of automated cognitive and psychomotor tests in a selection battery of the future.     

The concept of citizenship and attitudes toward women in combat

Since the American and French revolutions, the right to bear arms has been an integral aspect of the normative definition of citizenship. Citizenship rights were won by people who were given the opportunity to prove their loyalty through the defense of the state. This right has been denied women who, although they have served in the United States armed forces in relatively low numbers, have been systematically excluded from combat specialties. Attitude data collected from both Army and civilian samples show public opinion to be opposed to women in combat. Women in the Army are less opposed than are men, political liberals less than political conservatives, and respondents with no religious affiliation less than those with church ties. In no group, however, is there majority support for extending the right to fight to women.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Fifth Symposium on Psychology in the Air Force, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, April 8–10, 1976.     

Appraisal and Coping Process Immediately Before Ejection: A Study of Australian and Swedish Pilots

This study focuses on appraisal and coping processes among military pilots during ejection episodes. A total of 49 ejection episodes were reported by 24 pilots from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and 24 pilots from the Swedish Air Force (SAF). Two clusters of coping strategies were identified- instrumental self-management and emotional self-management-and both forms of coping were clearly related to effective problem solving. The emotional self-management strategies suggest an effective block of disturbing thoughts and emotions. Good performance was associated with challenge appraisals and considerable use of instrumental self-management. Poor performance was associated with appraising the episodes as irrelevant or threatening. Ejections caused by technical malfunctions were handled more effectively psychologically than were ejections caused by human errors. Only minor differences were found between the Australian and Swedish samples.     

The Impact of the United States Air Force Deployment Transition Center on Postdeployment Mental Health Outcomes

The United States Air Force Deployment Transition Center (DTC) operates a 2-day third-location decompression program that commenced operations during the summer of 2010 in Ramstein, Germany, with the aim to assist Air Force service members (AFSMs) who are returning from deployment as they prepare to reintegrate back into their home lives and work stations. The present study evaluated the impact of DTC attendance on later mental health outcomes. Because participants are not randomly assigned to attend the DTC, propensity score weighting was used to compare DTC participants (N = 1,573) to a weighted control group of AFSMs (N = 1,570) in the same job specialties who returned from deployment during the same time period. Rates of endorsement to items on the Postdeployment Health Reassessment were examined and compared, as were rates of mental health diagnoses from AFSMs’ official medical records. Key findings indicate that DTC participants reported lower levels of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms and lower levels of relationship conflict following return from deployment, as compared to weighted control participants. Mental health diagnostic rates were comparable for the 2 groups during the first 6 months following return from deployment. These findings suggest that participation in the DTC program had notable benefits for redeploying AFSMs and support the continued use of the program.     

Examination of the PC-PTSD in previously deployed Air Force Medical Service personnel

This study assessed the performance of the PC-PTSD in diagnosing postdeployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a cohort of Air Force Medical Services personnel (N = 18,530). The prevalence of PTSD in the cohort was 5.18% based on medical record data. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.69, indicating poor classification accuracy. Sensitivity was 47.55%, specificity was 90.68%, positive predictive value was 21.79%, and negative predictive value was 96.94%. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 5.10 and 0.58, respectively. Several risk factors were found to be associated with a diagnosis of postdeployment PTSD: being a nurse, being enlisted in the medical service career field, being enlisted in the mental health service career field, those over age 30, being a member of the Active Duty service component, and having one’s first deployment be to Iraq. Being an officer was found to be a protective characteristic. These factors could potentially improve screening for PTSD among Air Force healthcare personnel.     

Computer-aided analysis of in-flight physiological measurement

Computer Science Corporation, U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California Heart waveforms were collected from pilots under laboratory baseline conditions and in flight. Described is the computer-aided method for smoothing the heart waveforms recorded in flight.     

Predictive Validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test for Non-Rated Officer Specialties

The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) is used to qualify applicants for officer commissioning and aircrew training programs. The current study examined its predictive validity for 14 officer technical training courses for which there are no additional AFOQT minimum qualification requirements beyond those for officer commissioning. Sample sizes ranged from 16 to 2,190 with a mean and median size of 753 and 319 officers. Ninety percent (63 of 70) of the observed correlations between the AFOQT composites and average technical training grades were statistically significant. Meta-analyses were conducted to determine whether the AFOQT validities were generalizable across training specialties. Analyses were done on the observed data, after correction for range restriction, and after correction for both range restriction and criterion unreliability. The pattern of validities was similar for all three meta-analyses. The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval and the 95% credibility interval around the weighted mean validities were greater than zero for all five AFOQT composites supporting its utility for making personnel selection decisions for these jobs. The Verbal composite had the lowest and the Academic Aptitude composite had the highest weighted mean validity. The weighted mean of the validity coefficients across training specialties ranged from .261 to .326 for the observed data, .322 to .387 for the range-restriction corrected data, and .360 to .433 for the fully corrected data. Additional efforts are required to examine the generalizability of the results for a broader range of occupational specialties and to set minimum qualifying scores.     

The counseling assignment problem

A disposition index, DI, which provides information about each possible placement to be considered in a personnel classification situation is discussed. The index is readily computed by machine methods and can be used by counselors required to make assignments. The use of the disposition index provides an adequate approximation to optimal solutions obtained by other methods.This report is based on work done under ARDC Project No. 7702, Task No. 17051, in support of the research and development program of the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Permission is granted for reproduction, translation, publication, use, and disposal in whole and in part by or for the United States Government.     

A method for clustering eigenvalues

A method of computing communalities is presented which attempts to cluster eigenvalues about zero. Results are exhibited which show reduction of rank using computed communalities.This paper is based on work performed under Contract AF 30(602)-3300 monitored for the U. S. Air Force by Mr. Rocco Iuorno, Rome Air Development Center. The use, under the above contract, of the IBM 7094 computer located at Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is gratefully acknowledged. Permission is granted for reproduction, translation, publication, use, and disposal in whole and in part by or for the United States Government.     

Good News: Work Sample Administrators' Global Performance Judgments are (About) as Valid as We've Suspected

Data obtained on over 1,500 first-term U.S. Air Force enlisted personnel indicated that work sample administrators' global ratings of work sample performance substantially reflect actual ratee behavior in the work sample, and not potentially biasing factors (e.g., race, gender, amount of recent experience), supporting the "folk wisdom" that these global performance judgments are, in fact, valid and unbiased measures of performance. Good news!     

Effects of task performance and contextual performance on systemic rewards

Evidence from 2 samples of Air Force mechanics supported the hypothesis that contextual performance affects employees' career advancement and rewards over time. Results of hierarchical regressions controlling for experience showed task performance and contextual performance each predicted systemic rewards. Each facet explained separate variance in promotability ratings over 2 years. In both samples, contextual performance explained separate variance in informal rewards but task performance did not. Task performance explained incremental variance in career advancement 1 year later but contextual performance did not. Analyses using correlations corrected for unreliability suggest these results cannot be attributed to measurement error. Contextual performance still explained separate variance in informal rewards, and task performance explained distinct variance in career advancement a year later.     

Large sample validations of three general predictors of pilot training success

This article addresses one of the perennial problems of pilot selection research: obtaining an adequate sample size for reliable statistical analysis of predictive validity. Results from three studies involving the same computerized tests of instrument comprehension and psychomotor ability were combined in a meta-analysis to determine whether the validities of these tests generalized across three contexts. These were Royal Air Force and Turkish Air Force fixed-wing pilot training and British Army Air Corps rotary-wing pilot training. In this article, we discuss the adequacy of samples for estimating the validity of the tests, and the persistence of predictive validity to later stages of training as shown by British Army Air Corps data. Reference is also made to data from a fourth independent study of Qantas pilot training.     

The stability of the factorial pattern of aircrew classification tests in four analyses

This study consists of four factor analyses of the Army Air Forces Aircrew Classification Batteries. The first was an analysis of the 1945 wartime battery, while the other three were analyses of the 1947 postwar battery, consisting of essentially the same variables, but using different samples. Eleven factors were found which had been identified and reported in previous analyses. An additional factor, possibly an artifact, was identified as an age-education doublet. The only factor which differed significantly in the analyses was pilot or flying interest. These factor analyses show that the factorial content of the tests remains quite similar in both wartime and postwar populations.The data reported in this study were collected as part of the United States Air Force Human Resources Research and Development Program and described in Research Bulletin 52-16. The opinions or conclusions contained in this report are those of the authors. They are not to be construed as reflecting the view or indorsement of the Department of the Air Force.     

Can I see the real me? Leadership ability and the better-than-average effect

Military organizations typically emphasize the importance of leadership. The quality of military leadership might be inhibited because individuals tend to overestimate their respective leadership abilities. We hypothesized that military professionals generally overestimate how well they lead compared to their peers (Hypothesis 1). We also hypothesized that an egocentric bias, where self-ratings are weighted more strongly than other-ratings, contributes to this better-than-average effect (Hypothesis 2). The results obtained across two studies supported both hypotheses. Most notably, 242 of 251 United States Air Force Academy cadets and 31 of 34 United States Air Force officers rated themselves as above average compared to their peers. The obtained results have important implications for understanding the better-than-average effect generally and leadership in military and nonmilitary organizations.     

Computerized Testing in the United States Air Force

Computerized testing in the United States Air Force finds its historical beginnings in apparatus tests developed during World War II. The advent of fast, small, and inexpensive computers led to the establishment of a research program to use computers in pilot selection. Later, computerized tests were demonstrated for more familiar aptitude measures such as verbal and quantitative ability. Several large-scale efforts to implement computerized testing have proved informative. Many Air Force tests are routinely administered by computer. Continued advances in computer technology promise to make computerized testing more common and more commonplace. Computer use in measuring physiological correlates of human ability is discussed.     

Moderators of Skill Retention Interval/Performance Decrement Relationships in Eight U.S. Air Force Enlisted Specialties

A robust finding in the literature on skill maintenance is that extended skill-retention intervals (SRIs) lead to decreased task performance. We investigated three potential moderators of the SRVtask performance decrement relationship: (a) degree of initial skill learning, (b) performer aptitude, and (c) degree of task difficulty. Results in eight samples of enlisted U.S. Air Force personnel (N = 1,544) generally supported a negative SRIItask performance relationship, but support for moderator effects was mixed. Implications for skill maintenance in actual work settings are discussed.