Investigating Transfer of Input Device Practice on Psychomotor Performance in an Aviation Selection Test

ObjectiveWe explored transfer of learning from brief practice with different input devices in the Navy's Performance Based Measures Battery (PBM), a psychomotor subset of the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB).BackgroundThe PBM is a set of computerized tests used as a part of the ASTB to select aviators in the U.S. military. Official practice is not available, leading candidates to practice with unofficial re-creations and with or without access to the stick and throttle used on the PBM.MethodOur between-subjects study with 152 cadets from the U.S. Military Academy evaluated the impact of mouse/keyboard or stick/throttle practice on the psychomotor portions of the PBM compared to a control group that was only presented with an informational video.ResultsThe results showed that practice with either input device resulted in improved performance relative to control on the PBM's two-dimensional airplane tracking task (ATT). For the simpler vertical tracking task (VTT), the mouse/keyboard group showed significantly worse performance than either stick/throttle practice or control groups, indicating a transfer cost from practicing with an alternative input device.ConclusionThe results suggest that becoming familiar with the unique dynamics of the ATT may be more important than practicing with the appropriate input device. Conversely, device-specific motor learning appears to be a more impactful determinant of performance for the simpler VTT. This indicates that transfer effects from alternative input devices depend in part on properties of the task.ApplicationThis research can inform practice policies for psychomotor test selection.