Does Dyadic Practice Interfere with the Type of Motor Learning Promoted by Analogy Instructions?

Area of Science:

• Motor Learning
• Cognitive Psychology
• Sports Science

Background:

• Analogy instructions are used to enhance explicit motor learning implicitly.
• Dyadic practice involves collaborative learning through communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if verbal information exchange during dyadic practice affects implicit motor learning via analogy instructions.
• To determine if dyadic practice interferes with the implicit learning promoted by analogy instructions.

Main Methods:

• Forty-three college students performed golf putting tasks under either dyadic or individual practice conditions with analogy instructions.
• Participants completed working memory capacity tests, intrinsic motivation inventories, and retention/transfer tests.
• Explicit rules used for learning were self-reported post-practice.

Main Results:

• Both dyadic and individual practice groups showed comparable learning on retention tests.
• No significant group differences were found in explicit rule learning or motivation levels.
• Dyadic practice participants showed a correlation between dual-task transfer performance and working memory capacity.

Conclusions:

• Dyadic practice does not interfere with implicit motor learning facilitated by analogy instructions.
• Verbal information exchange in dyadic settings may support or not hinder implicit skill acquisition.
• Working memory capacity might play a role in the transfer of learning in dyadic practice settings.