Asymmetric Transfer of Training between Integral and Separable Displays

The type of display employed during operator training may affect the formation of an operator's internal model of the system. In this experiment subjects were divided into two groups and trained to classify instances of system state using either a configural or digital display. During extended practice the subjects were then switched to the alternate display type; those trained on the configural display now worked with the digital display, and vice versa. Results indicate that asymmetric transfer of training occurred; those who switched from the digital to the configural display outperformed the other group by a significant margin in terms of accuracy. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of display type on the formation of the operator's internal model and bias of processing strategy in transfer situations.