Acquisition and Transfer of Spatial Rotation and Assembly Skills: Two Speed-Accuracy Studies

Abstract

Two studies of the effects of practice on the acquisition and transfer of spatial skills are reported. Both used the methodology of the speed-accuracy study to generate performance curves for each subject in each condition. Interpretation of the parameters of models fitted to these data was guided by McClelland's (1979) cascade model. In the first study, subjects practiced either rotating or assembling polygons. Later, they were administered a transfer rotation or assembly task that presented either practiced or nonpracticed stimuli. In the second study, subjects practiced assembling forms for three sessions and were later posttested on the same transfer task used in Study 1. Following McClelland (1979), differences in asymptotes, curvatures, and intercepts of speed-accuracy curves between conditions were interpreted as reflecting changes in stimulus familiarity, changes in a slow (or rate limiting) process, and changes in a fast (or task-specific) process, respectively. Implications of the research for training and assessment of spatial abilities are discussed.