Effect of Contextual Interference and Differential Learning on Motor Skill Development and Motivation in Novice...

This study aimed to investigate the effect of three practice orders in the contextual interference and differential learning frameworks on motivation and motor learning of novice basketball players. For this purpose, 84 female students were divided into seven groups (progressive practice-contextual interference framework, random practice-contextual interference framework, blocked practice-contextual interference framework, progressive variations-differential learning, stochastic variation-differential learning, predictable variation-differential learning, and control). After a pretest (18 trials), participants practiced the basketball jump shot for three consecutive days according to their grouping (3 blocks of 18 attempts each day). The contextual interference groups varied in shooting distances: random (different distance each trial), blocked (same distance all day), or progressive order (blocked first day, serial second day, random third day). The differential groups varied in body positions: random (unpredictable changes), blocked (predictable daily changes from head to foot), or progressive order (blocked first day, serial second day, random third day). After the last block of the third day of practice, participants completed the motivation questionnaire, as motivation can affect motor learning. Three days after the acquisition, participants performed two retention tests with fixed and variable targets. Additionally, a transfer test including 18 trials from a different distance was performed. Results indicated that the blocked practice-contextual interference group performed more accurately than other groups during acquisition. However, a higher transfer was observed for differential learning groups. Additionally, differential groups and random practice-contextual interference group showed higher motivation. These findings were discussed according to the role of noise in the exploration of the solution space of the task.