A program investigated the feasibility of training selected abilities so as to facilitate transfer among tasks requiring these abilities and thus reduce training time and increase personnel flexibility. An extensive review of relevant literature was a first step in this investigation. Undergraduate college students were used as subjects in an initial and a followup study, both of which used experimental and control groups and a pretest/posttest experimental design. The first experiment examined the abilities of spatial scanning and flexibility of closure both for increase in the abilities as a result of training and for transfer of training to a criteria task requiring those abilities. Spatial scanning ability improved, flexibility of closure did not, and no transfer of training occurred. The second experiment attempted to train a single ability--spatial visualization--for transfer to two different criterion tasks. No improvement in spatial visualization could be inferred as a result of training, and no transfer of training occurred. Results suggested that (1) length and type of training may be critical factors, (2) some abilities may be more amenable to training than others, and (3) alternative training strategies should be considered. (YLB)