Use of Self Assessments in Estimating Levels of Skill Retention
Abstract
The focus of this research was on one approach toward predicting task retention and refresher training requirements--self assessment. Prior to zeroing their weapons for annual M16A1 rifle qualification (record fire), 153 permanent party soldiers completed a questionnaire designed to collect information on their previous marksmanship experiences as well as on their beliefs about how they were going to shoot at record fire. No special instructions were provided about the meanings of questions or possible responses. Questionnaire items then were correlated with rifle qualification scores based on 40 target exposures. Predicted scores accounted for 10% of the variance associated with record fire scores. However, for those soldiers whose confidence in the accuracy of their predictions exceeded 90%, predicted scores conducted for 25% of the record fire score variance. The best predictors of record fire performance were remembered most recent record fire performance and predicted performance. Subjects, generally, overestimated their actual performance and were biased heavily toward predicting success. The usefulness of the self-assessment approach to skill retention estimation is discussed together with practical suggestions for refining the precision of questionnaire techniques. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA141042
Entities
People
- Joel D. Schendel
- John C. Morey
- M. Janell Granier
- Sid Hall
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences