Acquisition and Retention of Skill on a Sensory-Motor Task and Sensory Tolerance to Distracting Stimuli by Skilled Workers

A model which explained the process of acquisition of skill and explained the relationship between two patterns of response distribution was proposed. The patterns were distributions of deteriorated responses evoked by distracting stimuli and the other were nondeteriorated responses. Based on this model, a method measuring skill and sensory tolerance to distracting stimuli was devised and examined in four experiments. In Exp. 1, two unskilled young women were trained for 6 days on choice reaction task. After training, the pattern of distribution of their reaction times (RT) to light targets was like that of skilled workers as predicted. In Exp. 2, 3 mo. after the training, the skill of each subject was verified. Skilled patterns of distribution of RTs were retained. In Exp. 3, sensory tolerance to intermittent sounds was measured. In rooms with these sounds distracted subjects showed a distribution pattern also predicted from the model. Their response patterns obtained in a quiet room were the same as those in Exp. 1, so their skills were retained. In Exp. 4, tolerance to flickering lights was measured. The results supported the pattern of distribution of deteriorated responses in the model, and the results obtained in a room with no flicker were the same as those in Exp. 1 also. The difference in the levels of tolerance to intermittent sounds and to flickering lights was smaller than difference in patterns of distribution of responses for individuals.