Name: Corey E. Tatel
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Meeting
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Microsoft Teams - click here
Meeting ID: 216 890 140 229
Passcode: hu9hpz
Advisor:
Phillip L. Ackerman, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Dissertation Committee Members:
Ruth Kanfer, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Rick P. Thomas, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Christopher W. Wiese, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Margaret E. Beier, Ph.D. (Rice University)
Title: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Procedural Skill Retention and Decay
Abstract: The extent to which procedural skills involving motor components decay over time is an issue that has significant ramifications for the safety and well-being of individuals and society. Prior researchers have concluded that there is a general pattern of skill decay as a function of the length of the retention interval. However, previous researchers relied primarily on studies that leveraged shorter retention intervals than are characteristic of real-world contexts (e.g., days or weeks) and included skills that require both declarative and procedural knowledge. This dissertation presents a new meta-analysis of skill retention that focuses specifically on procedural skills and leverages a recent influx of interdisciplinary literature (e.g., healthcare, sports psychology) consisting of longer retention intervals (e.g., months and years). A broad literature search led to the inclusion of 1,352 effect sizes from 457 sources. Random-effects meta-regression models were computed with retention interval as a predictor of standardized mean differences representing changes in performance between skill acquisition and skill retention for accuracy-based performance measures, speed-based performance measures, and performance measures that were a mix of accuracy and speed. Results indicated that standardized mean differences increased in magnitude by 0.08 per month for accuracy-based performance measures and 0.06 per month for speed-based and mixed performance measures. Initial skill acquisition performance gains were lost between one year and two and half years after they were acquired. Task type, task complexity, infrequent performance opportunities, and task instructions were identified as potentially meaningful moderators of skill decline rates. Findings provide applied audiences with an estimate of how much skill decay can be expected if skills are not frequently used and therefore, when refresher training should be considered. Important methodological considerations for skill retention research were also identified, including the need to isolate retention performance from relearning effects and the need to account for Speed-Accuracy-Tradeoff functions when interpreting changes in performance over time.