TAPAS - Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System Military Selection and Classification 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What item format does TAPAS use to present personality questions to test-takers?
- Likert-scale agree/disagree ratings
- Forced-choice pairwise comparisons (Correct answer)
- True/false autobiographical statements
- Open-ended written responses
Correct answer: Forced-choice pairwise comparisons
TAPAS presents pairs of personality statements and asks the test-taker to choose which is most (or least) like them, a forced-choice pairwise format that is central to how the assessment works.
Question 2: Which research organization is credited with developing the TAPAS assessment for military use?
- RAND Corporation
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) (Correct answer)
- Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Correct answer: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI)
The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) developed TAPAS to address the need for a non-cognitive screening tool that could improve enlisted selection and classification decisions.
Question 3: At which processing stage is TAPAS typically administered to U.S. Army enlistment candidates?
- During basic combat training orientation
- At the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) (Correct answer)
- After initial military occupational specialty assignment
- During the final week of advanced individual training
Correct answer: At the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS)
TAPAS is administered at MEPS, the centralized facility where recruits complete medical exams, aptitude testing, and other pre-enlistment evaluations before swearing in.
Question 4: Why does TAPAS use a forced-choice item format rather than traditional self-rating scales?
- To reduce test administration time below 10 minutes
- To minimize the influence of social desirability and deliberate faking (Correct answer)
- To allow partial-credit scoring of ambiguous responses
- To assess reading comprehension alongside personality traits
Correct answer: To minimize the influence of social desirability and deliberate faking
Forced-choice formats require test-takers to choose between equally worded options, making it harder to give uniformly positive self-impressions, which reduces socially desirable responding and deliberate score inflation.
Question 5: How are TAPAS scores most accurately described in relation to other enlistment criteria?
- As a mandatory pass/fail gate that independently disqualifies applicants
- As supplementary non-cognitive data combined with aptitude scores and medical findings (Correct answer)
- As the sole determinant of military occupational specialty assignment
- As a replacement for the background investigation process
Correct answer: As supplementary non-cognitive data combined with aptitude scores and medical findings
TAPAS scores add a personality dimension to the selection picture but are used alongside—not in place of—cognitive aptitude data (ASVAB) and medical evaluations, giving recruiters a more complete view of each candidate.
Question 6: In military personnel classification, TAPAS personality data is primarily used to identify recruits whose traits best align with which of the following?
- Specific military occupational specialty (MOS) requirements (Correct answer)
- Officer candidate school eligibility thresholds
- Physical fitness training regimens
- Security clearance investigation categories
Correct answer: Specific military occupational specialty (MOS) requirements
Beyond general selection, TAPAS supports classification by helping match recruits' personality profiles to the demands of specific MOSs, improving person-job fit and potentially reducing role-related attrition.
TAPAS - Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System Military Selection and Classification 2
What item format does TAPAS use to present personality questions to test-takers?