Memory-Encoding Strategies and Concurrent-Task Practice: New Implications for Complex Skill Training

Abstract

This study investigates memory-encoding strategies in a multiple-task environment. Eighty subjects solved mental arithmetic and trigram items in a transfer of training study. During training, practice load and variety were manipulated between groups. During transfer, the subjects solved rehearsed and novel items under single-, dual- and triple-task loads. Both main and interactive effects for practice load and variety were found. Variety influenced solution times for new and rehearsed items and these effects were moderated by practice load within levels of task load. The results are discussed within the framework of memory-encoding strategies, as applied to the design of training in complex systems.