Basic Attention Measures as Predictors of Success in Flight Training

A two-stage study was conducted to assess the potential of a new methodological technique for measuring individual differences in basic attention capabilities and the validity of these differences in predicting success in flight training. A performance testing system included a digit-processing reaction-time task and a one-dimensional compensatory tracking task. Comparisons were made between separate and concurrent performances of these tasks, and simultaneous performances also included comparisons involving changes in task priorities. Results indicating consistent individual differences in basic attention capabilities suggest several dimensions for their description.