Use of a Behavior-Based Personality Instrument in Aviation Selection

Abstract

This study evaluated a behavioral-based personality instrument currently used by a branch of the United States Armed Forces in their experimental aviation selection battery. The instrument, the Dot Estimation Task (DOT), was designed to measure compulsiveness versus decisiveness. The reliability and validity of this experimental instrument was evaluated. One hundred and fifty three university undergraduate students were administered the DOT and either of two paper-and-pencil compulsivity instruments in a counterbalanced design. Four weeks later, 90 subjects were retested on the DOT and the alternate compulsivity instrument. The results indicate that the DOT has a test-retest reliability of .64 but has no relationship to either compulsivity measure.

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