The predictive validity of eye movement indices for technical school qualifying test performance

The study was designed to determine the predictive validity of a series of eye scan indices, collected during analogical reasoning, with respect to technical school qualifying test performance. The scan patterns of 11 male Navy recruits were recorded during solution of 12 items taken from the 1962 Advanced Progressive Matrices. Significant positive relationships with performance on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test were identified for (1) the percentage of the total number of fixations occurring within the main stimulus array prior to the first excursion to the distractor field; (2) the proportion of total row scans to binary row scans; and (3) the proportion of total column scans to binary column scans. Significant negative relationships with qualifying test performance were identified for (1) the number of excursions from a point in the stimulus array to a point in the distractor field and (2) the total number of fixations. Results are discussed within the framework of employing indices of cognitive processes to develop selection and training procedures from an individual differences perspective