The selective-listening task as a test for pilots and air traffic controllers

This study evaluates the selective-listening task (SLT) originally developed by Gopher and Kahneman (1971). A brief analysis of the abilities measured by the SLT is presented, and investigations involving Royal Netherlands Air Force aviator applicants and Royal Netherlands Navy air traffic control applicants are reported. Task performance of samples from both populations (N=175 and N=87, respectively) correlated significantly with subsequent pass-fail in training (r=.34). Incremental validity of the SLT is demonstrated by (a) the absence of significant correlations with other operational selection tests and (b) a multiple regression analysis showing that the SLT explained a significant amount of residual variance not explained by the existing operational tests. We conclude that the SLT increases the assessment potential of an existing selection battery. However, we recommend simplifying the scoring procedure and suggest ways to increase the validity.