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Long-term motor learning: Effects of varied and specific practice
1Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.
Vision Research
|July 10, 2017
Summary
Varied motor practice enhances skill generalization, but this benefit may diminish over time. Specific practice led to consistent errors, while varied practice showed better adaptation to new distances, though this advantage was short-lived.
Area of Science:
- Motor learning and control
- Cognitive psychology
- Skill acquisition
Background:
- Schema theory suggests practice variability aids generalized motor program formation.
- Varied practice is hypothesized to improve long-term retention of motor skills due to increased challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of practice variability on motor skill generalization in adults.
- To replicate and extend the findings of Kerr and Booth (1978) using a beanbag throwing task.
Main Methods:
- Thirty adults were trained for 5-7 weeks on a beanbag throwing task.
- Participants were divided into a specific practice group (one target) and a varied practice group (two targets).
- Testing involved various target distances, including untrained distances, with a delayed posttest.
Main Results:
- The varied practice group demonstrated better generalization to untrained distances, particularly the longest distance.
- Specific practice resulted in consistent overshooting at shorter distances and undershooting at longer distances.
- Overall error magnitude was similar between groups, but the varied group showed better centering of throws.
Conclusions:
- Varied practice offers some advantage in generalizing motor skills to new situations.
- The benefits of varied practice on generalization may be context-dependent and can diminish over time.
- Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects and optimal parameters for varied motor practice.
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