FAST Psychomotor Coordination and Tracking — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a compensatory tracking task, the operator must:
- Predict the future position of a moving target and move ahead of it
- Continuously correct the error displayed as the distance between cursor and a fixed reference (Correct answer)
- Match a moving target using only discrete button presses
- Track a target that moves at fixed, predictable intervals
Correct answer: Continuously correct the error displayed as the distance between cursor and a fixed reference
In a compensatory tracking task, the display shows only the error (the gap between cursor and target centre). The operator corrects this error continuously. This contrasts with pursuit tracking, where both cursor and target are visible.
Question 2: Which factor most strongly predicts performance on a manual tracking task?
- Long-term memory capacity
- Reaction time and fine motor control (Correct answer)
- Verbal reasoning ability
- Mathematical aptitude
Correct answer: Reaction time and fine motor control
Manual tracking is a psychomotor task. Reaction time determines how quickly corrections are initiated, and fine motor control determines how precisely they are executed.
Question 3: A tracking target drifts at an unpredictable rate. Compared to a predictable drift, performance will MOST likely:
- Improve because unpredictability increases alertness
- Remain unchanged because tracking relies purely on reaction, not prediction
- Worsen because predictive correction is no longer possible (Correct answer)
- Improve because the operator is forced to use better technique
Correct answer: Worsen because predictive correction is no longer possible
Skilled trackers use predictive control — anticipating target motion to reduce lag. Unpredictable motion eliminates this strategy, forcing purely reactive corrections, which are inherently slower and less accurate.
Question 4: A trainee's tracking score improves from 55% to 85% over ten practice sessions. The MOST likely explanation is:
- The task became progressively easier over time
- Proceduralization — the task became partly automatic with practice (Correct answer)
- The scoring algorithm changed between sessions
- The trainee began ignoring error spikes to conserve effort
Correct answer: Proceduralization — the task became partly automatic with practice
Skill acquisition theory predicts that repeated practice causes tasks to proceduralize (become automatic), freeing cognitive resources and improving performance — without any change in external task difficulty.
Question 5: Which type of tracking task is generally harder for novices?
- Pursuit tracking (target and cursor both visible)
- Compensatory tracking (only error shown) (Correct answer)
- Predictive tracking (target path pre-displayed)
- Stationary tracking (target does not move)
Correct answer: Compensatory tracking (only error shown)
Compensatory tracking is harder because the operator sees only the error — not the absolute position of the cursor or target. This limits the ability to learn target dynamics and prevents anticipatory control.
Question 6: In a dual-task scenario, tracking accuracy is 90% with no secondary task, 70% with easy arithmetic, and 50% with hard arithmetic. This pattern BEST demonstrates:
- Resource competition — harder arithmetic consumes more shared resources (Correct answer)
- Motor fatigue accumulating from the tracking task
- The tracking task interfering with arithmetic processing
- Arithmetic indirectly improving tracking through increased arousal
Correct answer: Resource competition — harder arithmetic consumes more shared resources
The systematic drop in tracking accuracy as arithmetic difficulty increases shows resource competition. Both tasks draw on shared cognitive capacity; harder arithmetic consumes more of that capacity, leaving less available for tracking.
FAST Psychomotor Coordination and Tracking
In a compensatory tracking task, the operator must: