Stability, reliability and cross-mode correlations of tests in a recommended 8-minute performance assessment battery

A need exists for an automated performance test system to study drugs, agents, treatments, and stresses of interest to the aviation, space, and environmental medical community. The purpose of this present study is to evaluate tests for inclusion in the NASA-sponsored Automated Performance Test System (APTS). Twenty-one subjects were tested over 10 replications with tests previously identified as good candidates for repeated-measure research. The tests were concurrently administered in paper-and-pencil and microcomputer modes. Performance scores for the two modes were compared. Data from trials 1 to 10 were examined for indications of test stability and reliability. Nine of the ten APT system tests achieved stability. Reliabilities were generally high. Cross-correlation of microbased tests with traditional paper-and-pencil versions revealed similarity of content within tests in the different modes, and implied at least three cognition and two motor factors. This protable, inexpensive, rugged, computerized battery of tests is recommended for use in repeated-measures studies of environmental and drug effects on performance. Identification of other tests compatible with microcomputer testing and potentially capable of tapping previously unidentified factors is recommended. Documentation of APTS sensitivity to environmental agents is available for more than a dozen facilities and is reported briefly. Continuation of such validation remains critical in establishing the efficacy of APTS tests.