The effects of task difficulty on transfer performance in a perceptual-motor tracking task were investigated. Five groups of Ss (ns = 15) practiced 45 30-sec. trials with 30-sec. rests on a pursuit-rotor tracking task at 5 levels of difficulty, 30, 40, 45, 50, and 60 rpm. 48 hr. later, all Ss practiced at 45 rpm. The results showed that the extreme transfer groups (30 and 60 rpm) were significantly poorer than the central transfer groups (40, 45, and 50 rpm) on the first five trials of the second session but after 9 blocks of 5 trials, performance was similar. The roles of perceptual, motor, and strategy factors in transfer are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmmonsR. B.AmmonsC. H.MorganR. L.Transfer of skill and decremental factors along the speed dimension in rotary pursuit. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1956, 6, 43.
2.
AndreasB. G.GreenR. F.SpraggS. D. S.Transfer effects between performance on a following (modified SAM Two-hand Coordination Test) and a compensatory tracking task (modified two-hand pursuit test). Journal of Psychology, 1954, 37, 173–183.
3.
BakerK. E.WylieR. C.GagneR. M.Transfer of training to a motor skill as a function of variation in rate of response. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1950, 40, 721–732.
4.
BattigW. F.Facilitation and interference. In BilodeauE. A. (Ed.), Acquisition of skill. New York: Academic Press, 1966. Pp. 217–244.
5.
DayR. H.Relative task difficulty and transfer of training in skilled performance. Psychological Bulletin, 1956, 53, 160–168.
6.
GerallA. A.GreenR. F.Effect of torque changes upon a two-handed coordination task. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1958, 8, 287–290.
7.
HaysW. L.Statistics for psychologists. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1963.
8.
HoldingD. H.Transfer between difficult and easy tasks. British Journal of Psychology, 1962, 53, 397–407.
9.
JonesE. E.BilodeauE. A.Differential transfer of training between motor tasks of different difficulty. H.R.R.L. Bulletin, No. 52-35, 1952.
10.
KaestnerN. F.GrantD. A.Transfer of training as a function of the predictability of uni-dimensional target courses. Journal of General Psychology, 1956, 55, 103–116.
11.
LincolnR. S.SmithK. U.Transfer of training in tracking performance at different target speeds. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1951, 35, 358–362.
12.
LordahlD. S.ArcherF. J.Transfer effects of a rotary pursuit task as a function of first task difficulty. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1958, 56, 421–426.
13.
PetersR. H.ReilJ. R.LeonardD.Evidences of positive and negative transfer effects between highly similar perceptual-motor skills. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, 1960, 67, 449–458.
