The effect of overt rehearsal on motor short-term memory

The effects of different types of rehearsal on the recall of a blind motor movement were explored. Immediate recall and delayed recall (covert rehearsal) were compared to recall after the overt rehearsal of either movement distance or end-location. Spontaneous decay was evident in a large increase in variable error (VE) for all rehearsal conditions even though the location cue was reliable. Massed distance rehearsals yielded less VE than spaced, and VE increased with successive rehearsals, providing further support for spontaneous decay. Constant error showed a central tendency effect and decreased in overshooting over time. Longer movements yielded more VE than shorter, and the increase in VE over time was greater for longer movements, suggesting that retention characteristics may differ as a function of movement length.