Transfer of skill from a computer game trainer to flight

An experimental study was conducted to test the transfer of skills from a complex computer game to the flight performance of cadets in the Israeli Air Force flight school. The context relevance of the game to flight was argued on the basis of a skill-oriented task analysis, using the framework provided by contemporary models of the human processing system. The influence of two embedded training strategies was compared, one focusing on the specific skills involved in performing the game, the other designed to improve the general ability of trainees to cope with the high processing and response demands of the flight task and teach better strategies of attention control. Efficient control and management of attention under high task load are argued to be skills that can improve with proper training and generalize to new situations. Flight performance scores of two groups of cadets who received 10 h of training in the computer game were compared with those of a matched group without game experience. Both game groups performed significantly better than the no-game group in the subsequent test flights. The results are discussed with reference to the theoretical framework within which the context relevance of the game was supported. Also considered are the effects of the different training schedules and the significance of the data to the study of attention control. The game has now been incorporated into the regular training program of the Air Force.