Transfer of Automatic Component Processes to Compatible,Incompatible,and Conflict Situations: Issues for Retraining

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to examine the potential negative effects of automatic task components in situations requiring re-use or inhibition of those components. Participants trained on a category search task for 8,400 trials in three consistent (CM) and one varied mapping (VM) conditions. Following training, 2,352 trials were completed in seven transfer conditions. Results suggest that skill transfers to similar task situations. However, the data demonstrate that if the transfer situations are incompatible or prior learning must be inhibited, performance is disrupted. Although each condition improved after 336 transfer trials, performance did not reach pre-transfer levels in incompatible or inhibited conditions. The present data are useful for predicting transfer performance when skill components are trained to automaticity using a part-task methodology.