Aptitude Level and the Acquisition of Skills and Knowledges in a Variety of Military Training Tasks.

To assess the effects of wide aptitude differences on the acquisition of military knowledges and skills, a sample of 183 Army recruits was divided into three maximally distant aptitude groups on the basis of Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) scores: high aptitude (AFQT 90-99); middle aptitude (AFQT 45-55); low aptitude (AFQT 10-21). Recruits were individually trained to a performance criterion in differing combinations of eight tasks (simple and choice monitoring, M-14 rifle assembly and disassembly, missile preparation, military symbols, the international phonetic alphabet, combat plotting) representative of Army training. Various supplementary psychometric, scholastic achievement, and basic combat training attainment data were analyzed. Results were consistent in demonstrating large differences related to aptitude. As groups, high aptitude individuals excelled, low aptitude individuals did poorly, and middle aptitude groups fell in an intermediate range on all measures. (The document includes seven references and 29 tables and figures.) (LY)