Cognitive and Personality Predictors of Training Performance

Abstract

This study evaluated the usefulness of personality measures as supplements to cognitive measures in predicting success in Naval basic electricity and elec- tronic training. All students (N = 155) who entered training over a 2-month period completed a personality inventory (Hogan Personality Inventory). Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) were obtained from their service records. Students were followed through a self- paced, 26-module training course, and criterion data were collected for both academic (e.g., grades) and nonacademic (e.g., military infractions) perfor- mance. The predictor-academic criterion relations indicated that, although per- sonality variables predicted academic criteria, they contributed no variance in addition to the ASVAB. Infractions were unrelated to cognitive measures but were predicted by personality variables. These results suggest that although cognitive tests are reliably associated with learning ability and academic perfor- mance, personality assessment predicts attitudinal and motivational factors that also affect training success.