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Related Experiment Videos

Specificity and variability of practice.

C H Shea1, R M Kohl

  • 1Human Performance Laboratories, Texas A & M University, College Station 77843-4243.

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
|June 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Practicing variations of a motor skill improves retention more than practicing the skill alone. This finding challenges the specificity of learning principle, supporting the variability of practice hypothesis for motor skill acquisition.

Area of Science:

  • Motor Learning
  • Skill Acquisition
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • The specificity of learning principle posits that motor skills are highly specific.
  • Schema theory's variability of practice hypothesis emphasizes task variations for memory development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To contrast the specificity of learning principle and the variability of practice hypothesis.
  • To determine the influence of variable and specific acquisition experiences on motor skill retention.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted.
  • Participants engaged in acquisition practice with variations of a force production task or the criterion task alone.

Main Results:

  • Acquisition practice with variations of the criterion task resulted in superior retention compared to practicing the criterion task exclusively.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Findings contradict a strict interpretation of the specificity of learning principle.

    • Conclusions:

    • Variability of practice enhances motor skill retention.
    • Future research should incorporate the impact of practice variability on schema development and motor learning paradigms.