Military Enlistment Selection and Classification: Moving Forward

Abstract

This article places the articles included in this special issue within the larger context of the objectives of a selection and classification system. It examines the full range of individual differences and how, until relatively recently, a focus on training success has led to an emphasis on the cognitive subset of these differences within the military. It describes how, consistent with a greater recognition of the importance of job performance, the research described in this issue has opened the door to expanded coverage of both cognitive and noncognitive attributes. It summarizes the methodological advances that have contributed to the efficacy of new noncognitive measures. It explores how popular approaches to the measurement of classification efficiency have led to unwarranted pessimism regarding the classification potential of multiattribute measures and discusses research indicating how much greater classification efficiency is possible with existing measures. Finally, it examines potentially fruitful areas of future research to better meet military objectives. These include development of an approach to performance measurement and validity transportation that makes future military classification research feasible; exploration of currently untapped individual-difference domains, particularly those that might differentially predict across job groupings; exploration of the interaction between cognitive and noncognitive attributes; and exploration of alternative measurement techniques.