Browse by Abilities

Abilities are enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance. Open and explore the folders below to see the different categories and levels of information. Ratings on occupations are available at the most detailed level.

Folder (closedopen) Cognitive Abilities
Abilities that influence the acquisition and application of knowledge in problem solving.
- Folder (closedopen) Attentiveness
  Abilities related to application of attention.
  - Selective Attention
    The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  - Time Sharing
    The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Folder (closedopen) Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities
  Abilities that influence the application and manipulation of information in problem solving.
  - Category Flexibility
    The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  - Deductive Reasoning
    The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  - Fluency of Ideas
    The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  - Inductive Reasoning
    The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  - Information Ordering
    The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  - Originality
    The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  - Problem Sensitivity
    The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Folder (closedopen) Memory
  Abilities related to the recall of available information.
  - Memorization
    The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Folder (closedopen) Perceptual Abilities
  Abilities related to the acquisition and organization of visual information.
  - Flexibility of Closure
    The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  - Perceptual Speed
    The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  - Speed of Closure
    The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Folder (closedopen) Quantitative Abilities
  Abilities that influence the solution of problems involving mathematical relationships.
  - Mathematical Reasoning
    The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  - Number Facility
    The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Folder (closedopen) Spatial Abilities
  Abilities related to the manipulation and organization of spatial information.
  - Spatial Orientation
    The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  - Visualization
    The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Folder (closedopen) Verbal Abilities
  Abilities that influence the acquisition and application of verbal information in problem solving.
  - Oral Comprehension
    The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  - Oral Expression
    The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  - Written Comprehension
    The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  - Written Expression
    The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Folder (closedopen) Physical Abilities
Abilities that influence strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination.
- Folder (closedopen) Endurance
  The ability to exert oneself physically over long periods without getting out of breath.
  - Stamina
    The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Folder (closedopen) Flexibility, Balance, and Coordination
  Abilities related to the control of gross body movements.
  - Dynamic Flexibility
    The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  - Extent Flexibility
    The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  - Gross Body Coordination
    The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  - Gross Body Equilibrium
    The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Folder (closedopen) Physical Strength Abilities
  Abilities related to the capacity to exert force.
  - Dynamic Strength
    The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  - Explosive Strength
    The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  - Static Strength
    The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  - Trunk Strength
    The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Folder (closedopen) Psychomotor Abilities
Abilities that influence the capacity to manipulate and control objects.
- Folder (closedopen) Control Movement Abilities
  Abilities related to the control and manipulation of objects in time and space.
  - Control Precision
    The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  - Multilimb Coordination
    The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  - Rate Control
    The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  - Response Orientation
    The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Folder (closedopen) Fine Manipulative Abilities
  Abilities related to the manipulation of objects.
  - Arm-Hand Steadiness
    The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  - Finger Dexterity
    The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  - Manual Dexterity
    The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Folder (closedopen) Reaction Time and Speed Abilities
  Abilities related to speed of manipulation of objects.
  - Reaction Time
    The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  - Speed of Limb Movement
    The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  - Wrist-Finger Speed
    The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Folder (closedopen) Sensory Abilities
Abilities that influence visual, auditory and speech perception.
- Folder (closedopen) Auditory and Speech Abilities
  Abilities related to auditory and oral input.
  - Auditory Attention
    The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  - Hearing Sensitivity
    The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  - Sound Localization
    The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  - Speech Clarity
    The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  - Speech Recognition
    The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Folder (closedopen) Visual Abilities
  Abilities related to visual sensory input.
  - Depth Perception
    The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  - Far Vision
    The ability to see details at a distance.
  - Glare Sensitivity
    The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  - Near Vision
    The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  - Night Vision
    The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  - Peripheral Vision
    The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  - Visual Color Discrimination
    The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.