188 FUTURE SELECTION OF AQUANAUTS 



people is a young science. No one selection tool even begins to approach perfection. That is 

 why Peace Corps selection is deliberately structured to bring to bear many different selection 

 tools." ". . . no one element of this process is determinative but each makes a definite and 

 distinctive contribution to the process." Thus the tests or predictors used on this one group of 

 aquanauts cannot be used, by themselves alone, to select future crews of undersea dwellers. 

 The results of this study will have to be crossvalidated in similar situations. However, a be- 

 ginning has been made. Because information was collected on the crews of Sealab II, predic- 

 tors and criteria are available. More important, information is available on this group so that 

 comparisons with other groups are possible. 



CRITERION VARIABLES 

 General Comments 



No single criterion could describe adequately the behavior of the men in Sealab. Ten cri- 

 terion variables will be used in this report. More are available for later reports. They have 

 not been included here, since many of them require involved and complex treatments of data. 

 It is recognized that any criterion which is used is biased in the sense that it tends to favor the 

 performance or behavior of some men over that of others. However, it should be pointed out 

 that the purpose of this report is not to rate the men as such but to rate characteristics of men, 

 with the purpose of producing a profile of characteristics which might predict favorable adjust- 

 ment and performance in a Sealab-type environment. 



Each of the criteria will be defined and their shortcomings and advantages or biases indi- 

 cated. Most of these criteria have been corrected for within-team differences. That is, each 

 man's performance is rated only against members of his own ten-man team for purposes of 

 determining his score on each variable. This is done because conditions varied considerably 

 from team to team. For example, Teams 2 and 3 had the advantage of experience over Team 1. 

 Also, Team 3 had the advantage of a charging hose for the Mk-VI bottles, which allowed them 

 to spend considerably more time in the water than either Teams 1 or 2. Finally, there appear, 

 from the diving log, to have been differences among teams in recording various aspects of 

 work. Using within-team comparisons does not, however, preclude the comparison of men 

 between teams. This is because once standard scores within teams are assigned, these scores 

 can then be used to compare a man from one team with a man from another. 



Types of Criterion Variables 



Three types of criterion variables have been used here. One type is called the "work" 

 criterion variable. There are four of these. A second is called the "general adjustment" cri- 

 terion variable. There are also four of these. Two variables do not fit into either category; 

 these are leader ratings and peer choices. 



Definitions of Criterion Variables 



Diving Time— A Work Criterion — Diving time was checked against the diving log kept in 

 Sealab. While there were a few missing times in this document, it was remarkably complete 

 and accurate considering the hectic pace and the multiple duties of men in Sealab and the fact 

 that the log was kept by 28 separate individuals. It should be pointed out that diving time tends 

 to favor members of Team 3; however, as previously noted, a correction is made for this bias 

 by rating men within teams. A bias which cannot be corrected is the discrimination against 

 men with special tasks which required them to work inside Sealab rather than out in the water. 

 However, there are other variables on which these men are probably favored, and an overall 

 criterion will probably give an accurate picture. 



Number of Sorties— A Work Criterion — The number of sorties was also checked against 

 the diving log. There appears to have been some change in the definition of a sortie from team 

 to team. Also, some excursions into the water for minor tasks, such as taking out the garbage 

 or bringing in pots from the surface, were not given numbers and defined as sorties. Since 



