Determinants of individual differences during skill acquisition: Cognitive abilities and information processing.

An integrative theory that links general models of skill acquisition with ability determinants of individual differences in performance is presented. Three major patterns of individual differences during skill acquisition are considered: changes in between-subjects variability, the simplex pattern of trial intercorrelations, and changing ability–performance correlations with practice. In addition to a review of previous theory and data, eight experimental manipulations are used to evaluate the cognitive ability demands associated with different levels of information-processing complexity and consistency. Subjects practiced category word search, spatial figure, and choice reaction time tasks over several hundred trials of task practice. An air traffic controller simulation was used to show generalization to a complex task. Examinations of practice-related between-subjects variance changes and ability–performance correlations are used to demonstrate that an equivalence exists between three broad phases of skill acquisition and three cognitive–intellectual determinants of individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A correlational analysis of skill specificity: Learning, abilities, and individual differences.

Skill specificity, the notion that task performance is based on unique underlying information-processing components at skilled levels of performance, is examined from the perspective of the ability determinants of individual differences in task performance during skill acquisition. The current investigation uses a dynamic ability-skill theoretical perspective to evaluate how individual differences in procedural learning for a complex criterion task relate to learning of procedures for other more basic tasks such as choice and simple reaction time (RT). An experiment with 86 college students was performed using a simulated Air Traffic Controller (ATC) task for assessment of procedural learning, along with practice on several perceptual speed measures and assessment of reference abilities. When Ss are allowed to practice tests of perceptual speed and psychomotor ability, some measures increase in their power to predict skilled performance on the complex ATC criterion task, a direct disconfirmation of the skill-specificity thesis. Discussion is devoted to the use of individual-differences approaches to address general transfer and skill specificity issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and noncognitive determinants and consequences of complex skill acquisition.

Integration of multiple perspectives on the determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition is provided by examination of a wide array of predictors: ability (spatial, verbal, mathematical, and perceptual speed), personality (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness), vocational interests (realistic and investigative), self-estimates of ability, self-concept, motivational skills, and task-specific self-efficacy. Ninety-three trainees were studied over the course of 15 hr (across 2 weeks) of skill acquisition practice on a complex, air traffic controller simulation task (Terminal Radar Approach Controller; TRACON; Wesson International, Austin, TX). Across task practice, measures of self-efficacy, and negative and positive motivational thought occurrence were collected to examine prediction of later performance and communality with pretask measures, Results demonstrate independent and interactive influences of ability tests and self-report measures in predicting training task performance. Implications for the selection process are discussed in terms of communalities observed in the predictor space. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisition.

Two central constructs of applied psychology, motivation and cognitive ability, were integrated within an information-processing (IPR) framework. This framework simultaneously considers individual differences in cognitive abilities, self-regulatory processes of motivation, and IPR demands. Evidence for the framework is provided in the context of skill acquisition, in which IPR and ability demands change as a function of practice, training paradigm, and timing of goal setting (GS). Three field-based lab experiments were conducted with 1,010 US Air Force trainees. Exp 1 evaluated the basic ability–performance parameters of the air traffic controller task and GS effects early in practice. Exp 2 evaluated GS later in practice. Exp 3 investigated the simultaneous effects of training content, GS and ability–performance interactions. Results support the theoretical framework and have implications for notions of ability–motivation interactions and design of training and motivation programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in skill learning: An integration of psychometric and information processing perspectives.

Reexamines the nature of individual differences in novel and practiced performance on skill learning tasks from an information processing framework. Two major sources of data and discussion are reanalyzed and critically evaluated. One source concerns the changes in interindividual between-subjects variability with task practice; the other pertains to associations between intellectual abilities and task performance during skill acquisition. Early studies yielded mixed results regarding the convergence or divergence of individual differences with practice. Other studies indicated small or trivial correlations between individual differences in intelligence and "gain" scores. More recent studies indicated small correlations between performance measures on skill learning tasks and standard intellectual and cognitive ability measures, as well as increasing amounts of task-specific variance over learning trials. Data confirm the proposition that individuals converge on performance as tasks become less dependent on attentional resources with practice. When appropriate methodological techniques are used and crucial task characteristics are taken into account, intellectual abilities play a substantial part in determining individual differences in skill learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phillip L. Ackerman.

Phillip L. Ackerman is cited for outstanding research on individual differences in complex skill acquisition. His experiments with air traffic control and related learning and transfer tasks represent a unique marriage of cognitive theory, psychometrics, and sophisticated data analysis to substantially improve our understanding of real-world complex performance. He has provided an explicit information-processing theory on the phases of skill acquisition in relation to general and special abilities. In addition to the citation, and biography is presented for Ackerman, along with a selected bibliography of his works. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Span of apprehension and arousal in schizophrenia.

Investigated the relationship between levels of somatic arousal, autonomic reactivity, and visual information processing in 32 schizophrenic and 16 normal Ss. Span of apprehension for tachistoscopically presented consonants was measured over 80 trials and skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) were monitored during rest and performance. An information-processing deficiency in the schizophrenic Ss was interpreted as related to perceptual rather than mnemonic factors. Individual differences in level of arousal (SCL and HR) were not systematically related to information-processing efficiency in schizophrenic or normal Ss. Correlations between span and change in arousal level suggested that autonomic flexibility enhanced information-processing efficiency in both groups. Amplitude of stimulus-specific autonomic reactivity in normal Ss was more specifically modulated to the attention response demands of the task. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of abilities on performance during practice: Effects of massed and distributed practice.

Prior research indicates that the influence of abilities on performance may change as a function of practice. The present research examined how learning styles influence the relationship between abilities and task performance. The styles examined were massed vs distributed practice. 209 Ss were asked to complete measures of spatial visualization and perceptual speed. They then practiced a complex skill acquisition task for 4 hrs under conditions that allowed them to pace their rate of practice. Analysis of several dependent measures revealed that perceptual speed contributed to task performance for 33 Ss who massed their practice, whereas spatial visualization contributed to performance for 61 Ss who distributed their practice. The implications of these findings for understanding the role of abilities in skill acquisition are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective cognitive effort: A model of states, traits, and time.

Self-regulation theories were used to develop a dynamic model of the determinants of subjective cognitive effort. The authors assessed the roles of malleable states and stable individual differences. Subjective cognitive effort and perceived difficulty were measured while individuals performed an air traffic control task. As expected, Conscientiousness moderated the effort trajectory. Individuals with high Conscientiousness maintained subjective cognitive effort at high levels for longer than their counterparts. There were also individual differences in reactions to perceptions of task difficulty. The intra-individual relationship between perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort was stronger for individuals with low ability or low Conscientiousness than for their counterparts. A follow-up study showed that the measures of perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort were sensitive to a task difficulty manipulation as well as that the relationship between perceived difficulty and subjective cognitive effort held after controlling for self-set goal level. These findings contribute to the self-regulation literature by identifying factors that influence changes in subjective cognitive effort during skill acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting self-efficacy and performance during skill acquisition.

Ss completed 7 trials of a complex computer task that simulated the job of an air traffic controller. Performance was calculated by combining points for the number of planes landed minus penalty points. Throughout the trials, Ss completed questionnaires assessing their self-efficacy goals, expected performance, and the degree to which certain judgments required more or less cognitive processing. The results show that during skill acquisition people report reductions in their cognitive processing for working on the task and for making self-efficacy judgments. Also, on early trials, self-efficacy is a better predictor of performance than are expected score or goals, whereas the reverse is true for later trials. The discussion focuses on understanding motivational processes during skill acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in complex spatial processing.

Presents an information-processing model for a laboratory visualization task that represents an adaptation of a standardized spatial ability test. The laboratory visualization task includes item types varying in processing complexity and number of stimulus elements. 34 undergraduates provided latency and accuracy data to (a) test the fit of the information-processing model and (b) estimate 4 processing parameters: encoding and comparison, rotation, search, and preparation response. Positive (same) and negative (different) trial data were well fit by the model both at the group and individual S level, with plausible and reliable parameter estimates. Analyses of individual differences showed that search speed and error rates for positive and negative trials were most highly correlated with reference test scores. The pattern of results suggests that individual differences are a function of differences in the accuracy and/or quality of the mental representation, not just speed of processing. Both speed and accuracy differences in task performance are argued to be manifestations of this qualitative difference. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Within-task intercorrelations of skilled performance: Implications for predicting individual differences? A comment on Henry & Hulin, 1987.

Recent discussion by R. A. Henry and C. L. Hulin (see record 1987-33331-001) about the implications of stability and change in skilled performance are questioned on several counts. First, the presentation reflects an inadequate review of previous data pertaining to the influences of skill acquisition on ability–performance covariance. Furthermore, the authors made untenable assumptions that equate ability with job sample measures. Their conclusions about universal decline in predictive validity coefficients are inconsistent with both theory and data in the literature. As a result, misleading generalizations were made to other issues in the prediction of individual differences. This article notes deviations from historical literature and outlines the problems of this approach. Discussion of theoretical frameworks for predicting individual differences in skill acquisition and skilled performance is also presented, along with an overview of data in support of these frameworks. The conclusions reached differ from those of Henry and Hulin, lead to different interpretations of past research and practice, and propose very different directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of team skills as a function of type of training.

5 groups varying in training context (team vs. individual) and skill acquisition (individual, coordination, and communication skills) were compared at transfer on team (coordination of interceptions) and individual (number of interceptions) performance of a simulated radar-controlled aerial intercept task. Individual performance was unaffected by the training variables, but team performance was a positive function of the emphasis on coordination skills during training. When acquisition of coordination skills was held constant, context had no effect on transfer performance. Intrateam communications retarded performance but prohibiting these communications during training did not lessen their disruptive effect at transfer. This inhibitory influence of team communications reflected the verbal transmittal of information irrelevant to the task or more readily obtainable from the radar scopes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stability of validity coefficients over time: Ackerman's (1988) model and the General Aptitude Test Battery.

This study examined P. L. Ackerman's (1988) model of skill acquisition within an applied setting. Differences were examined between jobs on the basis of task consistency: changes in performance variability across experience, learning curves, and stability of ability–performance correlations across experience. Results showed the degree of task consistency influenced the shape of learning curves, with jobs composed of primarily consistent tasks improving more rapidly and reaching asymptote sooner. In addition, trends in ability–performance correlations were moderated by the degree of task consistency within a job. Specifically, for jobs with primarily consistent tasks, general cognitive ability best predicted early performance whereas psychomotor ability best predicted later performance. In contrast, general cognitive ability was the strongest predictor across experience for jobs with primarily inconsistent tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new tool for measuring and understanding individual differences in the component processes of reading comprehension.

We propose a new measure of individual differences in reading comprehension ability that is theoretically motivated, is easy to administer, and that has high predictive power. Participants read 3-sentence paragraphs that describe the relations among a set of real and artificial terms, and then they respond to true–false statements that assess their ability to access and integrate long-term memory knowledge with text information, to make text-based inferences, and to recall text. The components of our task predict performance on a test of global reading comprehension and on a range of specific comprehension tests, each of which draws more heavily on one particular component. Our task is better at predicting reading comprehension than is a typical working memory span task and has the potential for advancing researchers' understanding and measurement of a range of linguistic and cognitive tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroanatomical and cognitive mediators of age-related differences in perceptual priming and learning.

Our objectives were to assess age differences in perceptual repetition priming and perceptual skill learning and to determine whether they are mediated by cognitive resources and regional cerebral volume differences. Fragmented picture identification paradigm allows the study of both priming and learning within the same task. The authors presented this task to 169 adults (ages 18–80), assessed working memory and fluid intelligence, and measured brain volumes of regions that were deemed relevant to those cognitive skills. The data were analyzed within a hierarchical path modeling framework. In addition to finding age-related decrease in both perceptual priming and learning, the authors observed several dissociations with regards to their neural and cognitive mediators. Larger visual cortex volume was associated with greater repetition priming, but not perceptual skill learning, and neither process depended upon hippocampal volume. In contrast, the volumes of the prefrontal gray and white matter were differentially related to both processes via direct and indirect effects of cognitive resources. The results indicate that age-related differences in perceptual priming and skill learning have dissociable cognitive and neural correlates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in the speed and capacity of information processing: II. An electrophysiological approach.

A total of 60 subjects performed different variants of the Sternberg memory search task in an experiment designed to evaluate aging differences in the speed of the human information-processing system. The present study examined the nature of the age-related slowing using convergent methodologies of Sternberg's additive factors logic, the speed-accuracy trade-off, and the P300 component of the event-related brain potential. These methodologies revealed that a substantial component of slowing was manifest in perceptual encoding, response criterion adjustment, and response execution, with a lesser component related to memory search speed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General mental ability and two types of adaptation to unforeseen change: Applying discontinuous growth models to the task-change paradigm.

The present research provides new insights into the relationship between general mental ability (GMA) and adaptive performance by applying a discontinuous growth modeling framework to a study of unforeseen change on a complex decision-making task. The proposed framework provides a way to distinguish 2 types of adaptation (transition adaptation and reacquisition adaptation) from 2 common performance components (skill acquisition and basal task performance). Transition adaptation refers to an immediate loss of performance following a change, whereas reacquisition adaptation refers to the ability to relearn a changed task over time. Analyses revealed that GMA was negatively related to transition adaptation and found no evidence for a relationship between GMA and reacquisition adaptation. The results are integrated within the context of adaptability research, and implications of using the described discontinuous growth modeling framework to study adaptability are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the relation between abilities, learning, and human performance.

Describes the author's research efforts to link basic and applied psychology concepts in each of the following areas: aptitude measurement, learning and training, and human task performance. Several studies are described in detail to illustrate a number of broad issues, particularly the possibility of using combinations of experimental and correlational methods for studying complex human behavior, and the need to develop concepts that allow more dependable generalization of research findings to new situations (particularly to new tasks). A taxonomy of human perceptual-motor abilities is described and related to more complex tasks. Other studies investigated the relationship between abilities and skill acquisition; individual differences in various learning phenomena (e.g., transfer of training); and whether the taxonomic categories are useful for standardizing laboratory tasks and for generalizing results of these tasks to new tasks. Results suggest that (a) experimental-correlational studies can be used to develop a body of principles relating task dimensions to ability requirements; (b) kinesthetic ability factors become more important than spatial ones as psychomotor learning progresses; and (c) it should be possible to develop a data base about human performance, indexed by type of task. (37 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do ability-performance relationships differentiate age and practice effects in visual search?

Investigated relationships between abilities and performance in visual search for 70 young (aged 17–31 yrs) and 70 old adults (aged 65–80 yrs). Ss received extensive practice on a category search task. A consistent version allowed development of an automatic attention response; a varied version allowed general performance improvements. Transfer conditions assessed learning. General ability, induction, semantic knowledge, working memory, perceptual speed, semantic memory access, and psychomotor speed were assessed. LISREL models revealed that general ability and semantic memory access predicted initial performance for both age groups. Improvements on both the consistent and the varied tasks were predicted by perceptual speed. Ability–performance relationships indexed performance changes but were not predictive of learning (i.e., automatic process vs general efficiency). Qualitative differences in the ability-transfer models suggest age differences in learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)