Developing Coincident Timing Skill in Children: A Comparison of Training Methods

Abstract

The present study attempted to determine whether the nature of training experiences influences the development of coincident timing skill in young children. The task involved visual tracking of a moving light sequence and a 43 cm arm movement to a padded target. Subjects attempted to tap the target coincident with the completion of the light sequence. Sixty first grade children were randomly assigned to one of five groups, with an equal number of males and females in each group. Subjects assigned to the training groups received 48 trials on each of two days, with stimulus speeds that were either slow (179 cm/sec or 4 mph), fast (313 cm/sec or 7 mph), varied-random (179, 224, 268, 313 cm/sec or 4, 5, 6, 7 mph), or varied-blocked (i.e., 6 consecutive trials with one speed before changing to another). Control subjects performed a neutral coloring activity during the training phase of the experiment. All subjects were then given 10 trials on a third day with each of two stimulus speeds not experienced previously; one slow (134 cm/sec or 3 mph) and one fast (358 cm/sec or 8 mph). During transfer trials all groups were more accurate with the fast than with the slow speed stimulus. Training method mattered most during slow speed transfer trials, with the most accurate performance demonstrated by the group receiving varied-blocked speeds during training. The least effective methods were fast speed training, especially for males, and varied-random speed training. It was concluded that training sessions for the development of coincident timing skill in young children should emphasize slower speed stimuli and blocking of additional speeds which are more rapid.     

The Role of Interference and Task Similarity on the Acquisition,Retention, and Transfer of Simple Motor Skills

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine if two levels of task similarity influenced acquisition, retention, and transfer performance of three simple motor skills. Sixty right-handed subjects were randomly assigned to one of five (n = 12) experimental conditions. Each subject performed 72 trials during acquisition. Twenty-four trials were recorded for each movement task. Following a 5-min unfilled retention interval, subjects performed 4 trials on each task before completing 12 transfer trials of a novel movement. Contextual interference effects for acquisition and retention were supported for low but not high similarity tasks. Further, the results suggest that a different memory representation exists for high and low similarity tasks.     

Fatigue Effects on the Timing Performance of Well-Practiced Subjects

Abstract

In an attempt to extend the laws of fatigue to the performance of highly practiced subjects, 24 college males were trained for four days (50 trials/day) on a coincident timing task prior to manipulation of the fatigue variable. On day 5, motor performance was immediately preceded by either local fatigue (static exercise), general fatigue (treadmill running), or no fatigue. Increased variable error was found for both local and general fatigue subjects as compared with controls on the first block of five trials following fatigue. However, by block 2 this difference had diminished. A constant error analysis on the first and second postfatigue trials revealed transitory overshooting of the criterion timing response for local fatigue subjects and undershooting for general fatigue subjects. The results suggested that local and general fatigue may alter the timing mechanism in different ways and that both are sources of at least transient decrements in the performance of well-practiced subjects.     

A Test of Schmidt's Schema Theory of Discrete Motor Skill Learning

Abstract

Schmidt's (1975) schema theory was tested with subjects who had to emit a rapid aiming response while wearing prism glasses. The glasses enabled them to view the target, but not their responding limb or the outcome of the movement. The problem was to determine the effect of (a) training with variable target practice, and (b) experiencing visual displacement information of the target, prior to training, on performance in transfer to a novel target distance. A 2 × 2 (type of practice × displacement information) factorial design was used, in which four groups of 15 male college subjects performed 60 training trials with verbal knowledge of results. The groups with variable target practice had less error on initial transfer to the novel target and throughout transfer than the groups with nonvariable target practice. No evidence was found to indicate that rate of learning for a novel target distance during transfer in the absence of KR is a positive function of the variability of target practice in training. Nor was any effect found for experiencing visual displacement information on performance in transfer.     

Post-Knowledge of Results Delay: Effects of Interpolated Activity on Learning and Performance

Abstract

The present experiment investigated the effects of interpolated processing activity (IPA) during the post knowledge of results (KR) interval. The study attempted to correct some of the problems inherent in previous research by using a ballistic timing criterion task and assessing the effects of interpolated processing activity (IPA) on both acquisition and No KR transfer trials. To insure that the efficacy of the IPA manipulation, a paced task was used and performance was assessed. Two levels of post-KR delay (5 and 10 s) were factorially combined with two levels of IPA (IPA or No IPA) to yield four experimental groups. Each subject completed 30 KR acquisition trials and 20 No KR transfer trials. Interresponse interval was held constant. In contrast to many previous studies, IPA interfered with the subjects' ability to learn and perform the criterion movement time of 150 ms. Both the memory trace and the perceptual trace were similarly affected. The detrimental effects of IPA on absolute error and objective-subjective error differences found during acquisition persisted during KR withdrawal.     

Effects of Series Elasticity on the Human Knee Extension Torque-Angle Relationship in Vivo

Abstract

This paper examines whether self-controlled feedback schedules enhance learning, because they are more tailored to the performers' needs than externally controlled feedback schedules. Participants practiced a sequential timing task. One group of learners (self-control) was provided with feedback whenever they requested it, whereas another group (yoked) had no influence on the feedback schedule. The self-control group showed learning benefits on a delayed transfer test. Questionnaire results revealed that self-control learners asked for feedback primarily after good trials andyoked learners preferred to receive feedback after good trials. Analyses demonstrated that errors were lower on feedback than no-feedback trials for the self-control group but not for the yoked group. Thus, self-control participants appeared to use a strategy for requesting feedback. This might explain learning advantages of self-controlled practice.     

Effect of Added Weight on the Learning of a Discrete Arm Movement

Abstract

Four groups of 20 subjects were given 35 practice trials on a discrete motor task. On Trials 3 through 25 each of three experimental groups performed with either a 1, 3, or 6 lb. wristlet strapped to their wrists. Trials 1 and 2 and Trials 26 through 35 were performed under control conditions. Comparisons made of the three experimental groups with a group which practiced under control conditions throughout, revealed that the added physical work significantly depressed performance but did not affect learning. Analysis of the data after rest revealed that the groups did not differ significantly in the amount of learning, slopes of the curves, or means of the test trials. Reminiscence was found to be a function of the amount of physical work.     

Effects of Movement Context on the Encoding of Kinesthetic Spatial Information

Abstract

Effects of movement context upon the encoding of kinesthetic spatial location information were examined in a series of experiments using a motor learning paradigm. A cross-modal, kinesthetic to kinesthetic plus visual feedback procedure was used in each experiment to determine the encoding characteristics of spatial information within a variety of movement conditions. Following knowledge of results trials, subjects performing in cross-modal conditions had significant directional errors (overshooting of the target) for spatial locations associated with specific and non-specific body-referents (Experiment 1), for different movement directions to the same target (Experiment 2), and for long (40 cm) movements (Experiments 2, 3) and short (15 cm) movements (Experiment 4). However, subjects in both intermodal and intramodal conditions who switched movement direction had significant undershooting of the spatial targets (Experiment 3). Movement context in terms of response endpoint location or movement length did not have an apparent effect on directional errors. Performances in all experimental conditions were biased in the direction of the movement during learning. The context provided by movement direction did influence the encoding of kinesthetic spatial information.     

A Methodological Consideration for the Determination of Critical Power and Anaerobic Work Capacity

Abstract

Laboratory research in motor learning has consistently demonstrated higher retention and!or transfer when practice occurs under conditions of high contextual variety (e.g., Lee &; Magill, 1983; Newell &; Shapiro, 1976; Shea of Morgan, 1979;). In the present study, an attempt was made to determine whether a contextual variety effect could be demonstrated in a standard physical education instructional setting. During practice trials on the long and short badminton serves, male and female subjects performed under either blocked (i.e., all trials of one serve followed by all trials of the other) or varied (i.e., alternating trials of long and short serves) conditions. Retention and transfer tests (i.e., using the service area opposite that employed during the practice phase) were administered at the end of the badminton unit. Although little difference was observed in the performance of the two groups during practice, alternating-trial subjects demonstrated significantly higher retention of the short serve and significantly higher transfer of both serves than blocked-trial subjects. The performance of male and female subjects was not differentially influenced by practice structure conditions. It was concluded that a practice schedule that requires performers to change their plan of action from trial to trial may facilitate the retention and transfer of motor skills in applied instructional settings.     

Decreasing the Proportion of Self-Control Trials During the Acquisition Period Does Not Compromise the Learning Advantages in a Self-Controlled Context

The present experiment examined the learning effects of participants self-controlling their receipt of knowledge of results (KR) on all or half of their acquisition trials (50%). For participants who were provided 50% self-control, the first half of their acquisition period consisted of receiving KR on all trials, or according to a faded-KR schedule. Participants practiced a sequential timing task. The results showed that independent of practice condition, participants who self-controlled their KR during the acquisition period demonstrated superior performance compared to the respective yoked conditions in the retention and transfer portion of the experiment. These results extend previous research by suggesting that decreasing the proportion of self-control trials does not compromise learning in a self-controlled context.     

Recent Developments in Measurement and Possible Applications to the Measurement of Psychomotor Behavior

Abstract

Elementary physical education instructors and movement development clinicians frequently employ movement observation as their primary assessment strategy. The purpose of this study was to determine the minimal conditions of observation needed to obtain generalizable results across observers, trials, and subjects for the hop, jump, and run. The developmental sequences developed at Michigan State University were used as the observation system. Twelve children in the age range of 33–111 months were rated on five trials by 15 observers. The sample consisted of an equal number of males and females and did not involve children with handicapping conditions. The results suggest that when observers receive 1 hour of training for each skill, one observer and three trials are needed for evaluating the hop (.88), while three observers and three trials are required for the jump (.83). None of the nine measurement conditions resulted in acceptable (.80) generalizability for the run.     

The role of interference and task similarity on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of simple motor skills

The aim of the present study was to determine if two levels of task similarity influenced acquisition, retention, and transfer performance of three simple motor skills. Sixty right-handed subjects were randomly assigned to one of five (n = 12) experimental conditions. Each subject performed 72 trials during acquisition. Twenty-four trials were recorded for each movement task. Following a 5-min unfilled retention interval, subjects performed 4 trials on each task before completing 12 transfer trials of a novel movement. Contextual interference effects for acquisition and retention were supported for low but not high similarity tasks. Further, the results suggest that a different memory representation exists for high and low similarity tasks.     

Treadmill Adaptation and Verification of Self-Selected Walking Speed

Abstract

Eighty-two male college students were divided into three equal-size groups for the purpose of testing the transfer effects between motor skills judged similar in perceptual components but different in motor components.

Criterion measures of gross movement ability and static balance were analyzed and practice tasks similar to these criterion measures in perceptual components but different in motor components were developed. All subjects were pretested on the criterion measures, after which groups 1 and 2 practiced 3 min. per day for 28 days on the practice tasks while group 3 performed unrelated isometric exercises. On the post-test, the experimental groups were found to be significantly superior to the control group on gross movement accuracy and static balance. It was implied that the transfer resulted from the similarity in perceptual components of the two motor skills, and that perceptual abilities were subject to improvement through practice.     

Influence of Three Different Training Programs on Strength and Speed of a Limb Movement

Abstract

The experiment was designed to compare the effects of isometric-isotonic (A), dynamic-overload (B), and free swing (C) exercise programs on the speed and strength of a lateral arm movement The 26 college men in each group—three experimental and one control—were given pre- and post-training speed and strength trials. Each experimental group performed its assigned exercise twice a week during the 10-week training period. Reliability coefficients for both strength and speed of movement measurements were found to be high. Following training there were significant speed increases in both the isometric-isotonic and dynamic-overload groups (t=10.06 and 8.10; however, the difference in speed gain between conditions was nonsignificant (F=.10). Also, strength increases in both of these groups were significant (t=8.81 and 3.08), with that of the isometric-isotonic group significantly greater than the dynamic-overload group (F=5.11). No significant speed or strength gains were registered by either the free swing or control group.     

Decreasing the proportion of self-control trials during the acquisition period does not compromise the learning advantages in a self-controlled context

The present experiment examined the learning effects of participants self-controlling their receipt of knowledge of results (KR) on all or half of their acquisition trials (50%). For participants who were provided 50% self-control, the first half of their acquisition period consisted of receiving KR on all trials, or according to a faded-KR schedule. Participants practiced a sequential timing task. The results showed that independent of practice condition, participants who self-controlled their KR during the acquisition period demonstrated superior performance compared to the respective yoked conditions in the retention and transfer portion of the experiment. These results extend previous research by suggesting that decreasing the proportion of self-control trials does not compromise learning in a self-controlled context.     

What Undergraduate Physical Education Majors Learn during a Field Experience

Abstract

This study aimed at supporting the specificity of learning hypothesis, when aiming was based on internal cues, as directing the hand toward a “self-defined” target location. Participants practiced modest (20 trials) or intensive (720 trials) training with visual and proprioceptive information or proprioceptive information only. Pretests and posttests were performed in sensory conditions that did or did not match the training condition. Results showed that dynamic visual cues played a dominant role at the beginning of the task, and an intensive practice resulted in increased accuracy of kinesthetic information and efferent mechanisms of motor responses. These results have implications with regard to motor learning conceptions and training as a function of the task constraints.     

Saccadic Eye Movement Speed and Motor Response Execution

Abstract

This study investigated the hypothesis that systematic changes in efficiency (speed) of saccadic eye movement speed (SEMS) are accompanied by parallel improvements in associated motor responses or vice versa. Seventy-two individuals were classified according to SEMS and randomly assigned to batting practice, SEMS training, or control groups. Each of the two experimental groups practiced a total of ten hours under their respective training conditions. All individuals were pre- and posttested on batting performance. Results indicated that prior to training, individuals with faster SEMS were significantly better batters than those with slower SEMS. Training through actual batting produced significant increases in both SEMS and batting performance. Training through a SEMS program resulted primarily in significant improvements in SEMS. However, some evidence was found to indicate that observable (although less dramatic) changes also occurred in batting performance for this group.     

Movement Pattern and Parameter Learning in Children

Reduced feedback during practice has been shown to be detrimental to movement accuracy in children but not in young adults. We hypothesized that the reduced accuracy is attributable to reduced movement parameter learning, but not pattern learning, in children. A rapid arm movement task that required the acquisition of a motor pattern scaled to specific spatial and temporal parameters was used to investigate the effects of feedback (FB) frequency (100% vs. 62% faded) on motor learning differences between 19 school-age children and 19 young adults. Adults and children practiced the task for 200 trials under the 100% or faded FB condition on Day 1 and returned on Day 2 for a no-FB retention test. On the retention test, children who practiced with reduced feedback performed with greater temporal parameter errors, but not pattern error, than children who received frequent feedback. Motor skill learning in children is influenced by feedback frequency during practice that affects parameter learning but not pattern learning.     

Acquiring an Attacking Forehand Drive: The Effects of Static and Dynamic Environmental Conditions

Abstract

Two groups of 10 novice subjects each were trained to perform attacking forehand drives in table tennis and land the balls as fast and as accurately as possible onto a target on the opposite side of the net under two different training conditions. Under the static training condition, the balls were to be struck from a constant position, and under the dynamic training condition, balls approached the subjects in a normal way. Both groups were tested under dynamic conditions prior to and after four days of training, during which they received 1,600 practice trials. Both groups of subjects were shown to increase the number of balls that landed on the target, and learning was also evident from an increased consistency of the direction of travel of the bat at the moment of ball/bat contact. However, no increase in consistency was found for the location of the bat at the moment of ball/bat contact and for the movement times. Thus, learning can occur in the absence of externally generated time-to-contact information, but this is not due to the establishment of a consistent movement form. Learning appears to progress from control at the moment of ball/bat contact backward, toward the moment of initiation.     

Effect of Gymnastic Training on Orthostatic Efficiency

Abstract

Seventeen subjects were used to determine the effect of gymnastic training on orthostatic efficiency. The experimental group included 10 subjects that practiced on heavy apparatus for 3 months. The control group included 7 subjects that practiced volleyball for the same length of time. Circulatory adjustments to gravity were measured by heart rate and blood pressure differences between lying and standing positions. The results showed that the gymnastic group improved its orthostatic efficiency through a rise in systolic pressure and a smaller decrease of the pulse pressure upon standing, with no significant changes shown by the control group.