Joint Relationships of Task Proficiency With Aptitude,Experience, and Task Difficulty: A Cross-Level,Interactional Study

We adopted a cross-level interactional perspective in investigating the prediction of United States Air Force (USAF) jet engine mechanic task-level proficiency from aptitude, experience, and task difficulty. Aptitude, job and task experience, and task difficulty measures all were significant predictors of task proficiency. An hypothesis that task difficulty would moderate the aptitude-task proficiency relationship received no support. Similarly, hypothesized moderating effects of job experience on relationships of task proficiency with aptitude and task difficulty received little support. lhsk-level experience, however, had significant moderating effects on relationships of task proficiency with both aptitude and task difficulty. Aptitude and task difficulty had weaker relationships with task proficiency with increased task experience. We recommend that future research on performance determinants (a) clarify further the experience construct and (b) exploit theoretical and analytic advantages of cross-level and multilevel research designs.