Strategies and Automaticity: Implications for Part-Task Training

Abstract

This research examined the role of strategic and automatic processing in the acquisition of cognitive skill. These factors were dissociated by manipulating the predictability of Consistently Mapped (CM) and Variably Mapped (VM) stimuli in a memory search task. In blocked CM and VM conditions, subjects could choose different strategies for each condition. However, in mixed CM and VM conditions, the subjects had no basis for choosing differential strategies. Subjects who received mixed training exhibited less skilled performance than subjects who received blocked training. Moreover, transfer conditions revealed what appears to be a critical interval for learning to use differential strategies. The implications for part-task training are discussed.

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