Project A Spatial Tests and Military Orienteering Performance in the SpecialForces Assessment and Selection Program

摘要

This research assessed the relationship between scores on new Project A tests ofspatial ability and performance in the Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) program, including military orienteering (i.e., navigating over unfamiliar territory from a drop-off point to a prescribed destination). Candidates in two SFAS classes took the Project A Map, Orientation, and Maze tests. Researchers also used two measures of general cognitive ability and a measure of physical fitness as predictor scores. Criterion data were gathered as candidates proceeded through the SFAS program. The authors performed a series of univariate and multivariate analyses on these data. The major results indicate that (a) spatial scores are moderately related to scores on individual military orienteering tasks, (b) certain spatial tests scores and scores on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) lead to modest increases in the predictability of overall orienteering performance and graduation from the SFAS program, and (c) spatial, cognitive, and APFT scores do not lead to any appreciable improvement in the prediction of voluntary and involuntary attrition.