Skill Acquisition and Human Performance

By pulling together research from a variety of relatively distinct research areas, Skill Acquisition and Human Performance provides a coherent picture of our current understanding of human skill and the status of skills research. Taking an information-processing approach, the authors begin with a historical and conceptual introduction to the field and introduce the readers to research studies in which comparatively simple laboratory tasks are used to investigate skill. Next, they consider skilled performance of more complex tasks that impose greater demands on attentional and memorial resources and examine expertise in specific real-world domains. A discussion of more directly applied relevance follows, including training, the role of individual differences in abilities, and situational performance-shaping factors. The authors also explore the critical role that computational models play in contemporary research. Throughout, the close relation between theories and data is stressed, and the use of formalized models to aid in understanding the underlying nature of skill is highlighted. Professionals and researchers in psychology, management, and social psychology will appreciate the usefulness of this volume. "This text provides a much-needed overview of research on skill acquisition from an information-processing point of view. The book′s strengths include broad coverage of research on perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills; very clear presentation; and an open-minded, interdisciplinary approach to discussion of theoretical alternatives. I think it will be a ′must-buy′ for researchers and students interested in skill acquisition and human performance!" --Richard Carlson, Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University "This interesting book spans the traditional boundaries within experimental/cognitive psychology to examine human skill, its variety, and its acquisition in perception, attention, motor behavior, and problem solving. Building on this theoretical background, this book also looks at what is known about training, individual differences, and the effects of context on skilled human performance. What makes the text particularly useful is the clarity with which research results and ideas from so many areas are presented." --Charles E. Wright, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine BRIEF CONTENTS: Preface / 1. Foundations of Skill Research / 2. Perceptual Skill / 3. Response Selection Skill / 4. Motor Skill / 5. Performance of Multiple Tasks / 6. Learning Through Experiences / 7. Problem-Solving Skill / 8. The Development of Expertise / 9. Training / 10. Individual Differences / 11. Situational Influences on Skilled Performance / 12. Modeling the Characteristics of Skill / References