Fidelity of Task Structure as a Guiding Principle in the Development of Skill Trainers Based upon Complex Computer Games

Fidelity of task structure is proposed to replace physical fidelity, as a cost effective guiding principle in the development of trainers for complex tasks. The paper describes a research project in which a complex computer game was designed to mimic the requirements of flight skill. It was then employed as part trainer within an actual flight training program. The game was mainly directed to teach subjects strategies of attention control and efficient allocation of processing resources. It was found to improve trainees performance in flight. The paper discusses the theoretical roots of the proposed approach and some results of its application in an actual training environment.