The STEP model: Characterizing simultaneous time effects on practice for flight simulator performance among middle-aged and older pilots.
Open Access
- 1 September 2015
- journal article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Psychology and Aging
- Vol. 30 (3), 699-711
- https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000043
Abstract
Understanding the possible effects of the number of practice sessions (practice) and time between practice sessions (interval) among middle-aged and older adults in real-world tasks has important implications for skill maintenance. Prior training and cognitive ability may impact practice and interval effects on real-world tasks. In this study, we took advantage of existing practice data from 5 simulated flights among 263 middle-aged and older pilots with varying levels of flight expertise (defined by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proficiency ratings). We developed a new Simultaneous Time Effects on Practice (STEP) model: (a) to model the simultaneous effects of practice and interval on performance of the 5 flights, and (b) to examine the effects of selected covariates (i.e., age, flight expertise, and 3 composite measures of cognitive ability). The STEP model demonstrated consistent positive practice effects, negative interval effects, and predicted covariate effects. Age negatively moderated the beneficial effects of practice. Additionally, cognitive processing speed and intraindividual variability (IIV) in processing speed moderated the benefits of practice and/or the negative influence of interval for particular flight performance measures. Expertise did not interact with practice or interval. Results indicated that practice and interval effects occur in simulated flight tasks. However, processing speed and IIV may influence these effects, even among high-functioning adults. Results have implications for the design and assessment of training interventions targeted at middle-aged and older adults for complex real-world tasks.Keywords
Funding Information
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Veterans Affairs Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center
- National Institute on Aging (R37 AG 12713)
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