I__. - International Military Testing Association

3 Comp!etely satisfactory, somewhat above average, more positive than
negative characteristics;
4 Satisfactory, average, positive and negative characteristics are balanced,
5 Adequate, somewhat below average, more negative than positive
characteristics;
6 Just adequate, clearly below average, more negative than positive
characteristics; _
7 Unsatisfactory, obviously negative, clearly more negative characteristics
than usually expected.
The computer-assisted planning tasks and computer-simulated planning games consist
of a comparable matrix of methods and dimensions, too (Melter & Geilhardt, 1989). As
a rule military raters use the aptitude criteria achievement, social competence and
cooperation, argumentation, planning and decisiveness. These concepts describe a
range of characteristics denotable as leadership in small groups.
The problem of behavior prediction
Now, psychological aptitude researchers and military raters are confronted with the
problem of whether real-life behavior in squads, platoons orcompanies can be predicted
from task-generated behavior in artificial testing conditions.
While the predictor situations are sufficiently described, the criteria referring to careers
and jobs still have to be clarified to solve the prediction problem. Psychological research
normally makes use of analyses of job demands. Such analyses produce the criteria by
which leadership, for example in squads, platoons and companies, can be assessed by
other military personnel (instructors, superiors) and teachers at the officer schools, at
the universities of the German Federal Armed Forces, and in field appointments. If the
predictors and criteria are similar and comparable, the results of such analyses will be
reliable and valid. But if there are great differences between both situations, the
psychological aptitude research unit and the personnel department have to look for the
central personal constructs of the criterion situations. But neither psychologists nor
military users are able to claim td?ave discovered them with hundred per cent reliability.
Use of real-life situations to establish job demands
. One approach to establish career or job demands translatable with psychological
methods in measurements is to issue questionnaires to officers at the officer schools,
the Bundeswehr agencies and in field appointments, In first analyses we used repertory
grid techniques to question 25 military raters and staff officers from the Central
Personnel Office, 17 officers from the Air Force Officer School, and 15 officers from
the Army Officer School about their personal constructs of apt and inapt young officers.
The aim of those studies was to hear the implicit aptitude theories of these officers about
the new officer generation experienced in their own job environment (Mentges, 1989).