Ability correlates in learning a psychomotor task

Abstract

50 undergraduates served as Ss. Factor analysis of a battery of psychomotor reference tests and learning performance replicated previous findings of both increasing and decreasing task-specific factors in the acquisition of skill in a rotary pursuit task. A comparison of ability correlates of proficiency at various stages of practice for a group in which tracking speed vs. a group in which accuracy was emphasized suggests that difference in method of approaching the task may be responsible for much of the task-specific factor variance. Results highlight the difficulties in predicting proficiency in motor tasks from basic ability measures and the significantly greater utility of job samples for predictive purposes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)