The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB): Little more than acculturated learning (Gc)!?

Abstract

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is administered to over 1 million participants in the USA each year, serving either as a screening test for military enlistees or as a guidance counseling device in high schools. In this paper, we examine the factorial composition of the ASVAB in relation to the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence and Carroll's [1993. Human cognitive abilities: a survey of factor-analytic studies. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.] three-stratum model. In two studies ( N=349, N=6751), participants were administered both the ASVAB and tests designed to measure factors underlying these (largely) analogous models. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of correlational data suggested that the ASVAB primarily measures acculturated learning [crystallized intelligence (Gc)]. This evidence does not support the frequent claim that this test measures psychometric g. Our conclusion is that the ASVAB should be revised to incorporate the assessment of additional broad cognitive ability factors, particularly fluid intelligence and learning and memory constructs, if it is to maintain its postulated function.