This paper briefly outlines experiments that point to where and how automatic/control processing theory can be applied to complex training simulations of “real world” tasks. In all of these complex tasks, subjects could not simply focus in on a single stimulus and successfully perform the task. Rather, subjects were required to process combinations of stimuli for successful task completion. The pattern of data from these complex tasks is consistent with previous data collected using simple, stimulus-specific tasks. This similarity between results of previous research examining automatic/control processing and the present data points to the validity of suggesting the need for consistent mapping training of patterns of information in complex tasks. Preliminary applications of automatic/ control processing theory to instructional design and to cartography are discussed.
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