Intelligence, Work Performance, and Inspection Time

Abstract

Fourteen young men whose 1Q scores ranged from 60 to 95 completed a simple discrimination task. Estimates of inspection time ( ? )were obtained from the pattern of errors made by each participant. The measure ? is assumed to reflect the rate at which the person accumulates and processes sensory input. Subsequently, each participant stitched a series of straight lines on cloth, using an industrial sewing machine modified so that the operating speed was variable, and under the control of the experimenter. An overall correlation or0.64 was found between ? and the total errors made at all operating speeds. The standard of performance declined as the speed of the machine was increased, and the relationship between ? and errors was most marked at the fastest operating speed. Thus, a slower inspection time may disadvantage an operator who is unable to control the rate at which new information or feedback from actions arrives.