Studying Aptitude-Treatment Interactions: Development of a New Research Paradigm

摘要

The purpose of this research was to adapt the personnel classification research paradigm to investigate aptitude-treatment interactions (ATI) in training settings. In this report, we present a description of personnel classification theory, method, and research findings, and a review of the training literature. We describe the classification-ATI research design and the Training Characteristics Survey (TCS), both of which were developed in this project. The classification-ATI research design employs a person-treatment matching procedure to measure ATIs. The TCS is an instrument for measuring the variation in training settings due to course content, method of instruction, course difficulty, and occupation type. We believe that the classification-ATI research paradigm will improve ATI research by providing a means for comparing several ATIs within a single study and producing a quantitative index of the practical effects of ATIs on training performance.