Peer-reviewed research

Melioration and the Transition from Touch-Typing Training to Everyday Use

Eldad Yechiam et al., Human Factors, 2003

Read the original

Read on October 16, 2026

What it is: A 2003 study on why touch-typing skills learned in training often fade in everyday use. The authors argue that looking at the keys pays off in the moment, and they tested a training approach that makes looking at the screen more attractive during typing, using a secondary task, with 22 students.
How much weight it carries: Peer-reviewed in Human Factors. The sample is small (22 students) and the study is a single experiment, so it supports the idea that habits drift back without evidence of how large the effect is in general.

Facts taken from this source

The 2003 experiment gave 22 students a touch-typing course followed by a period of typing their own homework, using a modified reward for looking at the screen.
“In an experiment that evaluated this solution, 22 students were given a touch-typing training course followed by a period in which they had to type their own homework.” (Abstract)
The 2003 study says that in typing, melioration is an intuitive tendency to pick strategies that give a better immediate performance than touch typing does.
“In the context of typing, melioration implies an intuitive tendency to choose typing strategies that lead to a better immediate performance level than that obtained by touch-typing.” (Abstract)
In the 2003 experiment, under a modified reinforcement condition the effect of melioration on touch-typing scores after training decreased.
“under a modified reinforcement condition, the effect of melioration on touch-typing scores in the posttraining phase decreased” (Abstract)
Earlier research found that success in touch-typing training does not guarantee that people keep touch typing in everyday use.
“Previous research shows that success in touch-typing training does not ensure its continuation into everyday use.” (Abstract)
The 2003 study describes visually guided typing as a strategy in which the typist looks at the keys to locate their position, and treats it as a choice that touch-typing training can fail to replace.
“One such strategy is visually guided typing, in which the performer looks at the keys to locate their position.” (Abstract)

Pages that rest on this source

Peer-reviewed research

Melioration and the Transition from Touch-Typing Training to Everyday Use

Eldad Yechiam et al., Human Factors, 2003

Read the original

Read on October 16, 2026

What it is: A 2003 study on why touch-typing skills learned in training often fade in everyday use. The authors argue that looking at the keys pays off in the moment, and they tested a training approach that makes looking at the screen more attractive during typing, using a secondary task, with 22 students.
How much weight it carries: Peer-reviewed in Human Factors. The sample is small (22 students) and the study is a single experiment, so it supports the idea that habits drift back without evidence of how large the effect is in general.

Facts taken from this source

The 2003 experiment gave 22 students a touch-typing course followed by a period of typing their own homework, using a modified reward for looking at the screen.
“In an experiment that evaluated this solution, 22 students were given a touch-typing training course followed by a period in which they had to type their own homework.” (Abstract)
The 2003 study says that in typing, melioration is an intuitive tendency to pick strategies that give a better immediate performance than touch typing does.
“In the context of typing, melioration implies an intuitive tendency to choose typing strategies that lead to a better immediate performance level than that obtained by touch-typing.” (Abstract)
In the 2003 experiment, under a modified reinforcement condition the effect of melioration on touch-typing scores after training decreased.
“under a modified reinforcement condition, the effect of melioration on touch-typing scores in the posttraining phase decreased” (Abstract)
Earlier research found that success in touch-typing training does not guarantee that people keep touch typing in everyday use.
“Previous research shows that success in touch-typing training does not ensure its continuation into everyday use.” (Abstract)
The 2003 study describes visually guided typing as a strategy in which the typist looks at the keys to locate their position, and treats it as a choice that touch-typing training can fail to replace.
“One such strategy is visually guided typing, in which the performer looks at the keys to locate their position.” (Abstract)