The Effect of Distributed Practice on Immediate Posttraining,and Long-Term Performance on a Complex Command-and-Control Simulation Task

Using 192 paid participants who trained on a command-and-control microworld simulation, we examined the comparative effectiveness of two distributed practice schedules in enhancing performance at the end of training as well as after an 8-week nonuse period. Longer interstudy intervals (10 hr of practice over 2 weeks) led to higher levels of skill at the end of training and after nonuse than shorter interstudy intervals (10 hr of practice over 1 week). The study begins to address gaps in the skill retention literature by using a cognitively complex task and an extended nonuse interval. The primary implication of our findings is that scheduling longer interstudy practice intervals is a viable means of enhancing immediate posttraining performance and promoting long-term skill retention for cognitively complex tasks.