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AptitudeSimply aptitude can be defined as a natural ability to do something. Aptitude is expressed ininterest, and is reflected incurrentperformancewhich is expected toimproveover timewithtraining. When a career description lists an aptitude among the qualifications one needs to work in an occupation, it is referring to a natural talent or an ability an individual has acquired through life experience, study or training. The word may also pertain to one's capacity to acquire a skill.The term aptitude is used as a noun to refer to the ability which is either innate or acquired for something such as a talent. It can also be used to refer to the fastness or quickness in learning and can be at times referred to as intelligence. If you have an aptitude for something it means you have an inherent (natural) ability to do it. Not the same as a learned skill.Aptitude TestA test designed to determine a person's ability in a particular skill or field of knowledge is called Aptitude Test. An aptitude test is designed to assess what a person is capable of doing; to predict what a person is able to learn or do given the right education and instruction. It represents a person's level of competency to perform a certain type of task.Some examples of aptitude tests include: A test assessing an individual's aptitude to become a fighter pilot A career test evaluating a person's capability to work as an air traffic controller A test given to high school students to determine which type of careers they might be good at Unlikeachievement tests, which are concerned with looking a person's level of skill or knowledge at any given time, aptitude tests are instead focused on determining how capable of a person might be of performing a certain task.Types of Aptitude TestsBoth paper andonline aptitude testsare aimed at testing logical reasoning and your ability to think. Scores are compared with those of a control group to assess your ability.Online aptitude tests are regularly used by recruiting employers as they give immediate results and are cost-effective since they can be taken anywhere.Most assessments are divided into speed or power tests. The former are more often used at clerical or administrative level, and are aimed at seeing how many questions can be answered in a short space of time. Power tests, involving fewer but more complex questions, tend to be used for more senior positions.Your aptitude test may include verbal ornumerical reasoning, as well asabstract reasoning, which measures your ability to identify the underlying logic of a pattern. Spatial ability may also be part of your aptitude test. Mechanical reasoning questions are used to recruit for many jobs including the Army, police and fire services, as well as several other occupations.Concerning a single measurable characteristic affecting all mental ability, analysis of any group of intelligence test scores will nearly always show them to be highly correlated. The U.S. Department of Labor'sGeneral Learning Ability, for instance, is determined by combining Verbal, Numerical and Spatial aptitude subtests. In a given person some are low and others high. In the context of an aptitude test the "high" and "low" scores are usually not far apart, because all ability test scores tend to be correlated. Aptitude is better applied intra-individually to determine what tasks a given individual is more skilled at performing. Inter-individual aptitude differences are typically not very significant due to IQ differences. Of course this assumes individuals have not already been pre-screened for aptitude through some other process such asSATscores,GREscores, or finishingmedical school.Difference Between Aptitude and Learned Ability An aptitude is an innate, acquired or learned or developed component of a competency (the others being knowledge, understanding and attitude) to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitudes may be physical or mental. The innate nature of aptitude is in contrast to achievement, which represents knowledge or ability that is gained.Intelligence is an umbrella term describing a property of the mind including related abilities, such as the capacities for abstract thought, reasoning, planning, problem solving, communication, and learning.Theories of intelligence are two-fold: (i) the single intelligence based upon the unilinear construct of general intelligence, and (ii) the construct of multiple intelligences. Influenced by his cousin Charles Darwin, Francis Galton was the first scientist to propose a theory of general intelligence; that intelligence is a true, biologically-based mental faculty that can be studied by measuring a persons reaction times to cognitive tasks. Galtons research in measuring the head sizes of British scientists and laymen led to the conclusion that head-size is unrelated to a persons intelligence.Alfred Binet, and the French school of intelligence, believed intelligence was a median average of dissimilar abilities, not a unitary entity with specific, identifiable properties.Skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of work, some general skills would include time management, teamwork and leadership, self motivation and others, whereas domain-specific skills would be useful only for a certain job. Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill being shown and used.People need a broad range of skills in order to contribute to a modern economy and take their place in the technological society of the twenty-first century. An ASTD study showed that through technology, the workplace is changing, and so are the skills that employees must have to be able to change with it.Aptitude and AbilitiesAptitudes are inborn, like quick learning, athleticism, or a good ear for music.Abilities include aptitudes but also extend to the skills and knowledge you've built up through study and practice. The difference between Aptitude and Abilities is that Aptitude could be the potential, which has as yet not been tapped and trained to a skill level. Whereas ability as the word describes is, it is present here and now in the individual. In young children especially, aptitude denotes the childs potential to do a certain activity. For example if the child is able to create pictures, forms in his mind and bring them out in art form, then his spatial aptitude is high. He may not already be an artist of Picasso or MF Hussain calibre, but the potential or Aptitude is there. Spatial Aptitude denotes a persons ability to visualize things in space. Similarly a child may be able to easily pull apart mechanical things and put them together on his own. Then obviously his Mechanical Aptitude is good.Basically what an aptitude test can reveal is the persons mental abilities. To put it bluntly it measures your brains potential. Originally a persons mental capacity was evaluated based on his ability to reason and analyze situations and issues. This is generally termed as Intelligence or IQ. Then Howard Gardner brought in the theory of Multiple Intelligence and said there is more than one type of Intelligence. He said different parts of the brain have different functions. And logical reasoning is just one of them. The different types of Intelligence brought out by Gardner include Linguistic, Logical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalistic Intelligence. For example when the portion denoted for musical intelligence in a persons brain is well developed, then he is able to pick out musical notes easily, sing or play instruments well. We say this person has a good musical aptitude.Each type of intelligence denotes a persons aptitude in that area and so it makes sense to choose a career which requires more of that particular type of aptitude. For example a person with Linguistic intelligence has a natural aptitude for words. He would be able to write and/ or speak well because of his natural command over language. Professions like Teaching, Journalism, Novelists, Speakers, Technical Writers, Jockeys, require people with high levels of Linguistic intelligence or Aptitude. Here the words Intelligence and Aptitude are used interchangeably.Importance of AptitudeThere are manyfactors to be considered when designing asuccessful, fulfilling career, but the one most often overlooked is aptitude.While you may be able to do anything you put your mind to, that doesnt mean youll be able to do it well. We know instinctively people have different aptitudes or innate talents. One problem is that people often confuse aptitude and skills. A skill is the ability to perform a task. Although you can increase your knowledge and skills through education and experience, your innate aptitude is largely immutable. Given sufficient intelligence and drive, you can becomecompetentin just about anything you set your mind to. But if you dont understand innate talents, youre not likely to be very happy doing it. Consider the flip side as well. An unused aptitude is a source of frustration and restlessness.Most people focus on the skills they have worked the hardest to develop and take for granted those that come easily. Furthermore, what you know of your talents is based on what you have had experience with in the past. For example, if you never performed a job that required visual dexterity, you wont be able toeffectively gauge your abilityfor detail-oriented jobssuch as editing or law (thats right, lawyers need more than just strong verbal skills). That being said, it is well worth the effort to determine your natural aptitudes. Bear in mind, however,success in a career is usually determined by a collection of aptitudes.Importance of Aptitude TestsThe statistics reveal that 70 percent of worlds recruitment companies use aptitude test as a part of their recruitment procedure. These types of tests often permit potential companies to learn more about candidates personality and abilities. This is really significant as the recruitment is not all about what one needs or what one wants, or how they prepare for interviews. One should treat recruiters just like new customers; convince them about the possessed skills, personality and knowledge base. Employers wish to be certain that they are going to recruit the right individual who is able to work with companys clients and build up a reputation. An inappropriate worker could probably add to the cost of the firm, in terms of money, time as well as effort.Recruiters will put to use several methods to sort out and do away with persons from the selection procedure. Conventionally, covering letters or CVs are utilized, but firms often get hundreds of job applications for every job vacancy. So, psychological andaptitude testsare cost-effective and simple ways for sorting out candidates to select right individuals. Beforehand preparation is very important, as saying goes practice makes a man perfect.Tests like these are utilized for a wide range of objectives and are supervised by different sources. For instance, teachers can make use of these evaluations to determine performance of their students while the schools may utilize them to measure a persons acquaintance with some fields. The tests which are introduced for just educational purpose may include SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test), ACT (American College Testing Exam), and DAT (Differential Aptitude Test). These tests evaluate an individuals overall academic proficiency and specific abilities. The DAT test is one of the most commonly used exams for career and personnel assessment.Several aptitude tests are designed to check out a persons specific abilities which are related to certain vocation. For assessment and staffing purpose, companies make use of tests such as PAPI (Personality and Preference Inventory), PSL, Situational Judgement Test and more. There are also some Fault diagnoses tests that are held to hire staff for technical positions where they have to recognize and repair faults in certain electronic-control systems. Some fault-diagnosis queries are based upon pure logic, so whenever a fault occurs, there are physical clues and technician himself has to resolve such issues by procedure of logical elimination.Componenets of AptitudeAn aptitude test,also known as psychometric test, is used as a parameter by the organisation in selecting the right candidate for a particular job. Thus, if you are applying for a job then you should pay attention to aptitude tests as well and increase your speed and accuracy by practicing them. These aptitude tests or psychometric tests help to evaluate an individuals ability to work with speed and to check his accuracy. They consist of a limited number of multiple choice questions and are timed. The candidate has to answer the question within the provided time that helps in evaluating his speed and accuracy.The Aptitude Test is divided into 7 parts each having questions of a different type. These components are-Verbal ReasoningVerbal reasoning is understanding and reasoning using concepts framed in words. It aims at evaluating ability to think constructively, rather than at simple fluency or vocabulary recognition.Numerical ReasoningNumeracy is defined as the ability to reason and to apply simple numerical concepts. Basic numeracy skills consist of comprehending fundamental mathematics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.Perceptual ReasoningPerceptual reasoning measures the subjects ability to find relationships between non verbal stimuli and as well as testing their reasoning skills. It is considered to be a useful indicator of general intelligence and problem solving skills.

Spatial AbilitySpatial visualization ability or Visual-spatial ability is the ability to mentally manipulate 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional figures. It is typically measured with simple cognitive tests and is predictive of user performance with some kinds of user interfaces.Technical AbilityThe knowledge and abilities needed to accomplish mathematical, engineering, scientific or computer-related duties, as well as other specific tasks.Acuity SkillsAcuity Skills test measures ones ability to perform simple logical tasks at high speed. The skills which are mainly associated with this ability is called Acuity Skill and it plays a very important factor for success in many job fields. These test are time estimated and one has to complete this in lightning fast speed. These tests also measure ones ability to do things quickly and accurately which helps the employers in identifying ones suitability for careers such as journalism or secretarial work.Analytical AbilityAnalytical skill is the ability to visualize, articulate, and solve both complex and uncomplicated problems and concepts and make decisions that are sensical based on available information. Such skills include demonstration of the ability to apply logical thinking to gathering and analyzing information, designing and testing solutions to problems, and formulating plans.

Intellectual AptitudeThe Literal meaning of Intellectual aptitude is Mental Ability. The power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior. General mental ability is one of the prime topics of most of the entrance examinations besides one of the best determining factor of our job performance across business industry. These types of questions tests the level at which we learn things, understand the instructions and solve problems. It may encompasses our verbal concepts, vocabulary, arithmetic and spatial awareness (the ability to judge the positions and sizes of objects etc). Sensory AptitudeDuring every moment of an organism's life, sensory information is being taken in bysensory receptorsand processed by thenervous system.The information people received which is stored in sensory memory is just long enough to be transferred to short-term memory.Humans havefive main senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch.Sensory Aptitude allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased. It involves Sensory Memory. A common demonstration of SM is a child's ability to write letters and make circles by twirling a sparkler at night. When the sparkler is spun fast enough, it appears to leave a trail which forms a continuous image. This "light trail" is the image that is represented in the visual sensory store known asiconic memory. The other two types of SM that have been most extensively studied areechoic memory, andhaptic memory; however, it is reasonable to assume that each physiological sense has a corresponding memory store. Children for example have been shown to remember specific "sweet" tastes duringincidental learningtrials but the nature of this gustatory store is still unclear.