Learning to Use a Text Editor: Some Learner Characteristics that Predict Success

Why do some people have much more difficulty than others in learning a computer-based skill? To answer this question, we observed first-time users of computers as they learned to use a computer text editor. In two experiments, older people had more trouble than younger people and those who scored low on a standard test of spatial memory had greater difficulty than high scorers. These correlations were stabel over several hours of practice and did not vary as a function of the type of terminal used or specific editing problems attempted.