An information-processing, resource-allocation theory is used to investigate motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms as they affect the acquisition and maintenance of complex decision-making performance in jobs demanding highly skilled performance. Air traffic controllers will be used at the target skill group in this project. Key determinants of self-monitoring strategies and competency judgments, their interrelations, and their associations with performance are evaluated using an integrative aptitude/treatment interactions approach. Three studies examine the influence of the information environment on self-regulatory activities and task performance. These studies have implications for the development of training interventions to maximize on-task attentional effort and skill development in cognitively demanding, information-rich jobs. A second series of studies examines cognitive ability, task conception, and motivational determinants of individual differences in competency judgments of aspects of performance. The findings of these studies have implications for understanding the role of conative processes in skill acquisition, as well as for the development of more precise non-cognitive selection measures for the prediction of performance in complex jobs involving protracted training. The use of a high-fidelity work task simulation permits the integrations of laboratory findings with results obtained in two longitudinal field studies, and provides critical information for ultimate implementation in training and on-the-job situations.
