Training Procedures for Map Learning.
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of subjects' high-level study procedures on their success at learning a map. After learning a map using their own techniques, subjects were instructed (a) in the use of six previously determined effective learning procedures, (b) in the use of six procedures unrelated to learning success, or (c) to continue using their own techniques. The effective-procedures set comprised three techniques for learning spatial information, two techniques for using self-generated feedback to guide subsequent study behavior, and a procedure for partitioning the map into sections. On a second map-learning task, subjects trained to use effective procedures improved their performance significantly more than subjects in the other two groups. The magnitude of the performance increment was a function of the frequency with which these subjects used the designated procedures. In addition, both subjects' map-learning performance and subjects' use of spatial learning procedures were predictable from a psychometric measure of visual memory ability. These findings suggest that high-level procedures and low-level processing skills play complementary roles in determining complex task performance. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA074629
Entities
People
- Cathleen Stasz
- Perry W. Thorndyke
Organizations
- RAND Corporation