The effects of work rate schedules on total work output

Tests are used in industrial settings as a means of predicting those job applicants who will make successful employees. A recent focus has turned to tests that are intended to measure the physical abilities required on a job as determined by a formal job analysis. Development of a physical ability selection test draws on data and concepts from both industrial psychology and work physiology. This study was conducted in order to reevaluate an existing physical ability test in light of physiology literature which bears upon it. The purpose of this study was to determine what the effects would be if subjects were allowed to rest for brief periods during completion of a test which is usually administered in a continuous manner with no rest pauses. Eighteen female physical education majors were subjects in a repeated measures design experiment with three test conditions; continuous exertion, intermittent exertion with one revolution every three seconds, and intermittent exertion with one revolution every four seconds. Results indicate that the amount of work per unit time was the critical factor in determining performance, not whether or not the subject was allowed rest pauses.