VALIDITY RESULTS FOR G FROM AN EXPANDED TEST BASE

Citation
Ge. Larson et Jh. Wolfe, VALIDITY RESULTS FOR G FROM AN EXPANDED TEST BASE, Intelligence, 20(1), 1995, pp. 15-25
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Psychology
Journal title
ISSN journal
01602896
Volume
20
Issue
1
Year of publication
1995
Pages
15 - 25
Database
ISI
SICI code
0160-2896(1995)20:1<15:VRFGFA>2.0.ZU;2-A
Abstract
When vocational aptitude batteries are expanded by adding new tests, t he most common way to measure validity gains is to regress various cri teria onto the subtest scores from the old and new batteries and contr ast the results. A rarely tried approach that may be of equal value, h owever, is to examine ''accidental'' validity gains for a recalculated general intelligence (or g) score based on the new battery, because m any psychologists have argued that the majority of test validity comes from g rather than specific abilities. In this article, we examine va lidity differences for a g score calculated on the Armed Services Voca tional Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) alone versus the ASVAB plus nine diver se experimental tests selected for their potential importance and uniq ueness from the ASVAB. Although no validity gain for expanded g was ob served for final school grade criteria, a 6% validity gain was obtaine d for hands-on performance measures. A gain of this size is of practic al importance in the armed forces.