THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE IN ADULTS ENGAGED IN A TRACTOR-TRAILER TASK

The purpose of this research was to study the development of procedura l knowledge in adults engaged in a novel task. Seven men and 7 women, aged 18 to 35 years, were presented a pivoting, steerable, toy tractor -trailer rig to back up, turn 90-degrees, and park along a demarcated roadway. Their physical actions and comments were examined in detail. Results revealed three phases of development in subjects' knowledge of steering procedures and the rig's movement patterns, and in their use of feedback information. A single transformation was observed in the development of subjects' knowledge of task demands. Subjects also mani fested different levels of functioning when addressing different task demands. These findings were discussed in terms of transformations in organization that shape development in the course of a problem-solving experience, and the role that across-modality representation, feedbac k, error, and knowledge of task demands play in such transformations. Furthermore, several differences that were observed between men and wo men and among individual subjects were considered.