Evaluation of Complex Human Performance

Abstract

Western societies, and the United States in particular, heavily depend on the measurement and evaluation of complex human behavior for the training and placement of their profes sional workers. Multiple-choice instruments are the current norm for wide-scale measure ment and evaluation efforts. These instruments contain fundamental problems in the following areas: subject cueing, restricted responseformat, lack of individualization, and the relatively unexplored issue of testing individuals on what they say they will do rather than what they actually do. Computer-based management simulations may provide solutions to these problems, appear scoreable, reliable, offer increased validity, and are better suited to performance measurement. Evaluation of complex human behavior by computer-based simulation promises an improvement in measurement technique ; how ever, acceptance of the methodology depends upon a culturally perceived need to improve the evaluation of professional personnel.

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