Situational Judgment

AFOQT Study Guide Stopwatch Image

The Situational Judgment portion of the AFOQT explores your ability to reason via interpersonal situations frequently encountered by officers. Each situation is followed by two questions. For the first question, choose the MOST EFFECTIVE response to the situation at hand. For the second question, choose the LEAST EFFECTIVE response to the situation. You may only choose one answer per question, regardless of how similarly effective or ineffective potential responses may appear to be. Responses are scored relative to the consensus judgment of experienced U.S. Air Force officers.

Subtest Information: Time: 35 Minutes; Items: 50

Practice Questions

Have a look at the following situational judgment example questions:

1
You are aware a group of airmen in your squadron are bullying a female pilot on social media. They are not sexually harassing her, but intimidating her, and you think it is affecting her confidence. You also know that reporting bullying can actually make things worse for the victim, especially for women in the military.
Possible actions:
A
Approach the men who are bullying the pilot without informing the pilot. Let them know you will report them if they do not stop the behavior.
B
Approach the pilot and offer your support. Offer to talk to the bullies and/or their superiors on her behalf, but do not take action without her consent.
C
Approach the pilot and offer your support. Let her know that the men need to be reported for her sake and for others’ and that you will report them if she doesn’t.
D
Report your concerns to your superior officer and ask him take the initiative.
E
Do nothing. It’s none of your business.
2
You are a team leader in charge of three junior airmen. One of your team members expresses the hope that they will be assigned a certain task. You had intended to assign that task to another airman, who you feel would be more capable in this particular role.
Possible actions:
A
Give the job to the airman who wants the role the most.
B
Give the job to the airman who is most suited to the role.
C
Assign the role at random or rotate it among all three airmen.
D
Perform the task yourself in order to avoid causing conflict in the team.
E
Ask the third team member how they would assign this role.
3
You were once friendly with a certain airman, but the two of you recently had an argument over a personal issue. You have been assigned to do a job together, but resentment and anger are preventing you from completing the task properly. You are not sure if you can finish the job with this person on your team.
Possible actions:
A
Report the problem to your superior officer and ask to be reassigned.
B
Tell the other airman that they should be the one to ask for another assignment.
C
Ignore the other airman and focus only on performing your own work.
D
Do the work for both of you so you can avoid any contact with this airman.
E
Speak to the airman and try to come to an agreement to put your personal differences aside.
4
While working with a team member, you point out a mistake that s/he made. Your team member becomes very angry and hostile, and begins yelling at you. You are unable to placate him or her, and the team member finally storms off. This is not the first time s/he has behaved in an aggressive fashion and responded violently to criticism.
Possible actions:
A
Wait until your team member returns and then demand that they stop yelling at you.
B
Do nothing in order to avoid provoking any more arguments in the future.
C
Check with other team members to see if they have witnessed similar reactions.
D
Inform the team leader and your superior officer about this airman’s behavior.
E
Avoid this airman in the future and make sure you are never alone with them.
5
Your newest team members come from a cultural background that is very different from your own. They frequently use a term that is considered a slur in your culture and that you find highly insulting. You are not sure if the term has a different meaning in your team members’ native culture or if they are being intentionally insulting.
Possible actions:
A
Report to your superior officer that other team members are using slurs.
B
Demand that your team members stop using offensive terms immediately.
C
Ask other airmen from a similar cultural background how the term is being used.
D
Talk to your team members about what the term means to you and ask them to stop using it.
E
Do nothing in order to avoid behaving in a culturally-insensitive manner.

Answers:

  1. ME: B; LE: E
  2. ME: B; LE: E
  3. ME: E; LE: C
  4. ME: D; LE: E
  5. ME: D; LE: E
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