I__. - International Military Testing Association

ehavior will be invalid. This condition is violated in unstandardized group discussions and
in role-taking games.
-In complex situations different strategies are possible, leading to different outcomes. Therefore,
data on strategies should give more information about individual differences than
performance scores alone would; otherwise the analysis of performance alone would suffice.
The use of assessment center data on strategies and performance are interrelated.
- Analyses of strategies are most informative if the data are not predicted by classical tests or
other performance scores. They are useful if they are generalizable to other situations.
4. Empirical studies using simulated dynamic situations*
4.1 The simulated situations and their demands
In our empirical studies two different simulated situations are used. The first system simulates
a small industrial company which produces and sells textiles. The system consists of 24
variables, of which 11 input-variables can be changed directly by decisions made by the
subjects, including the volume of raw materials to be bought, the selling prices, the amount of
advertizing, the number of workers, etc. Subjects are asked to aim at three goals while
controlling the system:
-to make as much profit as possible,
-to increase the company’s capital from beginning to end,
-to pay the workers the highest wages possible.
These three goal variables are used in combination to rate the performance in system control.
The subjects are asked to control the system for 15 simulated months and to decide what
changes should be made in what input variables. As the experimenter operates the computer,
the subjects have to ask questions about the actual state of the variables, and to communicate
their decisions to the experimenter. So, while the subjects are thinking aloud, data can be gained
in quite a natural manner. _
The second system simulates a forest region that is to be protected against fire. The subjects
are asked to take on the role of a fire chief, giving different commands to 12 fire fighting units
(using a mouse). The forest, the units, and the fires are displayed on a graphics terminal in front
of the subjects. The goal is to minimize the area that is burned down (see also Brehmer, 1987).
Again, the same criterion is used to rate performance. The system is to be controlled for 100
time intervals which maximally last one minute each.
Despite differences in the mode of control the two systems have the following demands in
common:
* This research is supported by grants from the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn, Federal
Republic of Germany
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