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Effects of difficulty, specificity, and variability on training to follow navigation instructions
Vivian I Schneider1, Alice F Healy, Immanuel Barshi
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Muenzinger Building, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0345, USA, vivian.schneider@colorado.edu.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|August 17, 2014
Summary
Training effectiveness varies. Mixed training improved performance across most instruction lengths, while easy training excelled at short lengths and hard training at long lengths, highlighting specificity and variability benefits.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Learning Sciences
Background:
- Understanding optimal training principles is crucial for skill acquisition.
- The study investigates the impact of training difficulty, specificity, and variability on learning navigation instructions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of three training principles: difficulty, specificity, and variability.
- To determine which training approach yields the best performance in a computer-based navigation task.
Main Methods:
- Participants were trained to follow navigation instructions on a computer grid.
- Three training groups received different message lengths: easy (short), hard (long), and mixed (all).
- Performance was assessed at test across all message lengths after a distractor task.
Main Results:
- The mixed training group demonstrated superior performance across most instruction lengths.
- The easy training group outperformed the hard group on short instructions.
- The hard training group outperformed the easy group on long instructions.
Conclusions:
- Training specificity and variability enhance learning outcomes in navigation tasks.
- Difficult training, as implemented, does not guarantee superior overall performance.
- Tailoring training to specific task demands and incorporating variety appears most effective.
